Joe Rogan praised the remarkable toughness of a fan favorite fighter who refused to quit.
UFC 317 is set to feature some of the most exciting fighters on the roster with Ilia Topuria vs Charles Oliveira guaranteed to produce highlights.
Along with elite fighters like flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja and highly touted prospects like Payton Talbott, there are some names who could be dark horses to produce some of the night’s most memorable moments.
Niko Price has certainly taken on that role from time to time during his UFC career, which first began all the way back in 2016.
Along with Price securing one of the most unique UFC knockouts of all time, ‘The Hybrid’ has been involved in some wars with one fight in particular showcasing his incredible durability.
Niko Price’s incredible rematch with Vicente Luque ended following a gruesome eye injury
At UFC 249 in 2020, the promotion returned from a two-month hiatus for the first event to take place since the UFC schedule was impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The event was stacked and while they didn’t end up winning the fight of the night bonus, Niko Price and Vicente Luque’s rematch still tore the house down even with no fans in attendance.
Fight of the night went to Justin Gaethje’s dominant win over Tony Ferguson in the main event, but the welterweight clash that opened the prelims couldn’t have been far behind.
Through two incredibly competitive rounds, two of the three judges had the fight tied but Luque made sure to pull ahead in the third.
Both men took some big shots and wore the damage, with Luque remarkably landing just one more significant strike than his opponent for a total of 130-129, before eventually one of them fell.
Luque dropped his opponent with a huge right hook that ‘The Hybrid’ somehow survived but the damage had already been done.
With less than 90 seconds left on the clock, referee Jason Herzog called time as he brought in the doctor to have a look at Price’s right eye, which led to the fight being waved off because it was completely shut.
Fight fans who watched the event live likely won’t have been able to forget the gruesome nature of Price’s eye, with Joe Rogan crediting his insane toughness when reflecting on the stoppage.
“You could cut his head off, he’ll keep fighting.”
Niko Price faces a tough test on his return to the Octagon at UFC 317
Since his second loss to Vicente Luque, Niko Price has struggled to find form, though he has been facing high-level opposition.
‘The Hybrid’ went 1-1 last year with his first outing of 2025 coming at UFC 317 where he faces an undefeated opponent on the UFC Fight Pass prelims.
Price is set to face Jacobe Smith, who earned his UFC contract via Dana White’s Contender Series last October.
His Octagon debut ended in just over a minute as he stopped Preston Parsons in January for the 8th knockout win of his career.