A pair of longtime UFC welterweight sluggers finally will meet when the promotion returns to Brazil this fall.
Vicente Luque (23-11-1 MMA, 16-7 UFC) will take on Santiago Ponzinibbio (30-9 MMA, 12-8 UFC) at UFC Fight Night 261, promotion officials announced Monday. The event takes place at Farmasi Arena in Rio de Janeiro on Oct. 11 with an expected stream on ESPN+.
Both fighters will be working off losses from earlier this year and will no doubt be eager to get back in the win column.
Luque has alternated losses and wins his past five fights. This past December, he picked up a bonus for a 52-second submission of Themba Gorimba. But in June, he returned to the loss column when he was choked out by Kevin Holland at UFC 316. Although he was born in the U.S., Luque has not had a “home” fight in Brazil since 2017.
Ponzinibbio has dropped three of his past four fights. In May, he was knocked out in the third round by Daniel Rodriguez. Before that, he knocked out Carlston Harris in January to snap a two-fight skid. The 38-year-old Argentinian has six career UFC bonuses on his resume.
With the addition, the UFC Rio lineup now includes:
- Charles Oliveira vs. Rafael Fiziev
- Thomas Petersen vs. Vitor Petrino
- Karolina Kowalkiewicz vs. Julia Polastri
- Stewart Nicoll vs. Lucas Rocha
- Jhonata Diniz vs. Mario Pinto
- Irina Alekseeva vs. Bia Mesquita
- Vicente Luque vs. Santiago Ponzinibbio
