Luque Finds New Life at Middleweight After DArce Choke Submission at UFC 327

MIAMI — Vicente Luque has found his groove at 185 pounds. The Brazilian submitted Kelvin Gastelum with a D’Arce choke 4:27 into the first round at UFC 327 inside the Kaseya Center, giving him four D’Arce or anaconda choke finishes in his last five wins. It was a statement performance — and one that came as an underdog, a rare position for a fighter who spent nearly a decade as a favorite or pick’em in the UFC’s deepest division.

The shift to middleweight, however, explains a lot. Luque stepped onto the scale at roughly 200 to 201 pounds this time around, a stark contrast to the brutal cuts that defined his welterweight run. For years, draining down to 170 took a visible toll on his body and his fight frequency.

It’s a much easier weight cut, Luque said at his post-fight press conference. I still had to make weight, but I stepped in there at a much more natural place. I don’t think I’m one of the biggest middleweights, but going down to 170 the last few years — that was hard. At 185, I can perform so much better in training, and that translates to the octagon.

That translation was evident against Gastelum. Luque (24-12-1 MMA, 17-8 UFC) controlled the exchanges and finished with surgical precision, a far cry from the drained fighter who struggled to make weight at welterweight in years past. The submission win also ended a pattern that had been building since late 2024, when Luque first entered the underdog role against Themba Gorimbo and knocked him out in 52 seconds.

Since that fight, Luque has leaned into the underdog tag — and embraced the freedom that comes with fighting at his natural size. He believes middleweight is where he can extend his career and rediscover the activity level that once made him one of the UFC’s most reliable action fighters.

The hard cuts at welterweight didn’t just affect my body — they affected how often I could train at full intensity, Luque explained. Right now, I feel like I can be more consistent, more sharp. This is where I can do my best work.

With the win over Gastelum (20-11, 14-11 UFC), Luque establishes himself as a legitimate middleweight contender and offers fans another reminder that sometimes the best move is the one that feels right.