Midnight Mania: Did Vicente Luque quit UFC Atlantic City? “He didn't want to be in there”

Welcome to Midnight Mania!

Joaquin Buckley scored the biggest win of his professional career over the weekend (Saturday, March 30, 2024) in the co-main event of UFC Atlantic City, stopping Vicente Luque with strikes in the second round.

The fight was quite competitive from the beginning. In the first round, Buckley had some success with a combination of striking and pressure. However, he also landed powerful kicks on Luque, and briefly gained the upper hand with a takedown. All was well, but things got a little weird in the second.

Buckley landed some solid punches to start the round and met Luque's double leg attempt with his strong hips. The Brazilian veteran responded by pulling his guard and as Buckley started punching, “The Silent Assassin” continued to fire until the referee intervened. It was a strange sight for many who have been at war with the likes of Mike Perry and Stephen Thompson without taking a step back (see here).

Buckley thinks Luque may not have wanted him in the cage with him.

“I feel like Vicente quit there — short of a point, well,” Buckley said. MMA hour (via MMAfighting). “He quit. He didn't want to be there in the first place. Before the fight started, he didn't want to be there. If you're a fighter, you can feel those things. . It's hard to explain. You have to go in there and find out.

“I knew it the moment I saw him. I knew it the moment I saw him at the weigh-in.”

In Luque's defense, he is only two fights removed from a knockout loss with a brain hemorrhage. He played pretty safe against Rafael dos Anjos in his return fight last year, but it would be understandable if the punches of a powerful hitter like Buckley shook his confidence.

The question is whether Luque can come back from this. Luque's best victories have come by pushing forward in chaos, and if he can no longer maintain his confidence in bad spots, he's unlikely to win many battles. It's not there.

As for Buckley, he is rapidly rising through the welterweight ranks and has an idea of ​​his next opponent: Gilbert Burns. Ideally, he would like that bout to be the main event of UFC St. Louis, but another uninspiring heavyweight contest is currently scheduled as the headliner.

“Actually, I love the idea of ​​Gilbert Burns,” Buckley said. “Right now we're 3-1 against that team. The first guy on that team to beat me was Logan Story back in Bellator. He held me down for 15 minutes. [minutes]. Then he knocked out Impa Kasanganay, Andre Fialho, and now their boy Vicente. So now I’m 3-1 with them.”

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