UFC 249's undercard was filled with exciting fights but perhaps none more thrilling than the rematch between welterweight fighters Vicente Luque and Niko Price. Luque was originally scheduled to face Randy Brown in early April, but the coronavirus pandemic forced the event to be cancelled and instead we got this — a rematch of a 2017 fight in which Luque submitted Price in the second round.
Their rematch turned out to be one of the best fights of the evening. Luque's technical approach and Price's wild prowess made for some exciting fireworks — and a lot of blood.
It took little time for the action to get going as Luque landed several flush punches early on. Price responded with a few blows of his own, but it seemed that Luque was getting the better of the exchanges. Luque briefly dropped Price in the second round. Despite a cut under his right eye, Price showed no sign of altering his aggressive approach. Price kept up the pressure, but Luque responded well and both fighters took turns on the offensive.
With the blood flowing in the third, Luque caught Price with a hard left hook that sent him to the canvas with two minutes to go. Although Price did manage to recover and rise to his feet, the cut over his right eye forced the referee to call in the Octagonside physician. Unable to see out of the eye, the doctor recommended halting the fight. Referee Jason Herzog stopped the fight at 3:37 of round three.
Price was disappointed he didn't get a chance to finish the remaining 90 seconds, but seemed to understand the decision was made for his own health. Despite taking a beating, he seemed to be in good spirits following the fight and both competitors showed great respect for each other.
The win moves the No. 13-ranked Luque to 18-7-1 (12-2 in the UFC). It was a nice rebound from his loss to Stephen Thompson in November 2019. Niko Price is now 14-4 with 1 NC.