Vicente Luque Cleared to Fight After Suffering Brain Hemorrhage in KO Loss

Vicente Luque’s headlining bout against Rafael dos Anjos at UFC on ESPN 51 will proceed as planned after the welterweight was cleared to compete at a Nevada State Athletic Commission hearing on Tuesday.

During that meeting, the NSAC revealed that Luque suffered a brain hemorrhage in relation to a technical knockout loss to Geoff Neal at UFC on ESPN 40 in August 2022. NSAC executive Jeff Mullen initially confirmed the news to MMAjunkie.com.

“He suffered a brain bleed [a year ago],” Mullen said. “He had a suspension of one year. He had to bring before the commission clearance from a neurosurgeon and a neurologist independently who recommended he be licensed. We have that material. … I have faith in our doctors.”

Luque’s license was unanimously approved by the commission. If he fights again in Nevada after his Aug. 12 matchup with dos Anjos, he will likely have to submit to additional testing to confirm he is still healthy enough to compete.

UFC on ESPN 51 takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Luque will attempt to snap a two-fight skid after falling to Neal and Belal Muhammad in back-to-back outings last year.