Vicente Luque pledges to 'bring violence' against Joaquin Buckley at UFC Fight Night in Atlantic City

Vicente Luque has pledged to "bring violence" to UFC Fight Night in Atlantic City as he takes on Joaquin Buckley.

Luque had been due to take on sparring partner Ian Machado Garry at UFC 296 in December, but his opponent was forced to pull out after contracting pneumonia.

He was then scheduled to take part in a headline fight against Sean Brady in Atlantic City, but again his opponent withdrew, this time because of injury. Buckley was offered as a replacement, and Luque accepted.

A women's flyweight bout between Erin Blanchfield and Manon Fiorot will now headline the event, which is live on TNT Sports.

"I’m very excited for this weekend," Luque told Eurosport Netherlands. "It’s going to be a big card, a big fight for me. I’m ready to bring a fight, bring violence, and put on a big show for everyone."

Luque is currently 11th in the UFC welterweight rankings, while Buckley is unranked. But while he won’t be taking on a high-profile rival, Luque explained why he saw value in the bout.

"He’s not a ranked guy, but he has a lot of hype, a very aggressive style, a style that the people, the fans love to watch," Luque said. "So, in my mind it’s a fight that makes a lot of sense. It's going to bring a lot of eyes to us.

"If I go out there and get a big win against him, a dominant win, it’s definitely going to move me up closer to where I want to be in the division."

Buckley has won twice since dropping down to welterweight in 2023, defeating Andre Fialho and Alex Morono.

Luque praised his opponent’s fighting style, but appeared confident he would still emerge triumphant.

"He's a great striker," The Silent Assassin said. "Very explosive, very aggressive, very unorthodox, he'll throw shots that we don't expect. I think that kind of style excites me a lot, gets me kind of motivated.

"Okay, I'm going to have a different kind of view in that Octagon, and overcome that and be able to bring him a tough fight. Whenever I'm in there, I'm looking to put the guy out, and that's what I want to try to do, finish this guy."

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