UFC Fight Night 119 results: Vicente Luque taps Niko Price with brilliant D'Arce choke

Vicente Luque made the most of his short-notice opportunity against Niko Price, chipping away with heavy shots until a finish presented itself.

Luque (12-6-1 MMA, 5-2 UFC) dropped Price (11-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC) with a combo in the second round. But rather than punch his way to a stoppage, he locked in a D’Arce choke and forced a tap.

The welterweight bout closed out the preliminary card of today’s UFC Fight Night 119 event at Ibirapuera Gymnasium in Sao Paulo. It aired on FS2 following additional prelims on UFC Fight Pass and ahead of a main card on FS1.

The end came at the 4:08 mark of the second round. Price tried in vain to roll free of the submission and found Luque’s grip impossible to break.

Luque, who stepped in on short notice for an injured Luan Chagas, softened up Price by attacking the legs early, then going upstairs with punching combinations. From the outset, it was clear Luque’s shots were the more authoritive of the two. A persistent jab from Price didn’t stop his opponent from closing.

Against Luque, Price was not the aggressive wildman seen in previous performances. Insteaad, he waged a more conservative attack that left him one step behind in exchanges. By the time he started to fire back in the second frame, the damage to his leg had taken effect, leaving less spring in his legs to create power for his punches.

Luque, by contrast, kept a consistent pace and continued to land his power right hand. Late in the second frame, a straight right visibly hurt Price, and a body shot and left knocked him to the ground. As Price tried to recover, Luque secured his arms in position and let them to the work.

After a unanimous decision loss to Leon Edwards, Luque is back in the win column, while Price suffers his first UFC loss as well as professional setback.

Up-to-the-minute UFC Fight Night 119 results include:

• Vicente Luque def. Niko Price via submission (D’Arce choke) – Round 2, 4:08
• Antonio Carlos Junior def. Jack Marshman via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 4:30
• Jared Gordon def. Hacran Dias via unanimous decision (29-26, 29-27, 30-26)
• Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos def. Max Griffin via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-27, 29-28)
• Deiveson Figueiredo def. Jarred Brooks via split decision (27-30, 29-28, 29-28)
• Marcelo Golm def. Christian Colombo via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 2:08

For complete coverage of UFC Fight Night 119, check out the UFC Events section of the site.

(MMAjunkie’s John Morgan and Fernanda Prates contributed to this report on site in Sao Paulo.)