Vicente Luque vs. Geoff Neal planned for August UFC card

Bloody Elbow 2.0 | Anton Tabuena

Vicente Luque may be fresh off a disappointing defeat to Belal Muhammad back in April, but it doesn’t look like the defeat is going to slow him down any. ESPN reports that the longtime Sanford MMA fighter will be returning to action early this August for a bout against fellow top-ranked welterweight Geoff Neal.

Luque (21-8-1) battled his way into top contender status over the last two years with a four-fight unbeaten run, including stoppage victories over Michael Chiesa and former champion Tyron Woodley. Unfortunately for his hopes of UFC gold, that path ran him headlong into Muhammad’s wrestling game and a unanimous decision loss.

For Neal (14-4) this fight represents another chance to make a big jump up the rankings after suffering back to back losses against Neil Magny and Stephen Thompson in 2020-2021. Neal last fought back in December of last year, picking up the split decision win over Santiago Ponzinibbio to solidify his #12 spot in the UFC’s official welterweight rankings.

Neal and Luque are expected to face off on August 6th as part of a UFC Fight Night event. No location has been announced as of yet. A top-ranked light heavyweight bout between Thiago Santos and Jamahal Hill is currently set to headline the card.

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Zane Simon

Zane Simon is a senior editor, writer, and podcaster for Bloody Elbow. He has worked with the website since 2013, taking on a wide variety of roles. A lifelong combat sports fan, Zane has trained off & on in both boxing and Muay Thai. He currently hosts the long-running MMA Vivisection podcast, which he took over from Nate Wilcox & Dallas Winston in 2015, as well as the 6th Round podcast, started in 2014. Zane is also responsible for developing and maintaining the ‘List of current UFC fighters’ on Bloody Elbow, a resource he originally developed for Wikipedia in 2010.