Seemingly the odd man out at welterweight after his failed UFC 296 bout with Ian Garry, perennial contender Vicente Luque is shifting his focus elsewhere.
Luque (22-9-1 MMA, 15-5 UFC) was scheduled to fight highly touted and unbeaten Garry this past weekend on the final UFC card of 2023, but when the Irishman withdrew on fight week due to pneumonia, he was left without a fight.
Once the event concluded, UFC CEO Dana White announced a number of 170-pound bouts for the first quarter of the year, none of which involved Luque. White claimed the Brazilian had turned down multiple of fight offers but did not specify if those were replacement fights for UFC 296 or other dates down the line.
That prompted Luque to take matters into his own hands for his next assignment. On social media, he issued a callout of Sean Brady (16-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC) for the main event of UFC Fight Night in Atlantic City, N.J. on March 30 (via X):
5 rounds in Atlantic City against Brady what do you guys think? @ufc @AliAbdelaziz00 @danawhite @seanshelby
— Vicente Luque (@VicenteLuqueMMA) December 18, 2023
5 rounds in Atlantic City against Brady what do you guys think? @ufc @AliAbdelaziz00 @danawhite @seanshelby
Brady, No. 9 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie welterweight rankings, has not responded to the callout but expressed interest fighting in Atlantic City following his submission win over Kelvin Gastelum at UFC on ESPN 52 earlier this month.
Given who is available, No. 13 Luque, who defeated former UFC champion Rafael dos Anjos by unanimous decision in his most recent bout at UFC on ESPN 51 in August, might be his best option.
