The best and worst from UFC on ESPN: Ngannou vs Velasquez

#2 Best: Luque and Barberena’s crazy war

Vicente Luque and Bryan Barberena went to war last night in a classic

While the UFC’s shows on ESPN in 2019 have been fun thus far, up until last night we hadn’t been treated to a truly classic fight. Well, Vicente Luque and Bryan Barberena changed all that, going to war for almost 15 minutes and treating the crowd in Phoenix – as well as the viewers at home – to an instant Fight of the Year Candidate.

The fight was simply incredible. Both men threw everything they had at one another, and somehow managed to absorb an insane amount of punishment.

Luque appeared to be winning the first round handily but then got dropped by a Barberena left hook. Barberena appeared to be ahead in the second before he got dropped by a knee. Then the two men simply brawled through the third round before a pair of knees from Luque finally made Barberena’s body give out.

The craziest part? It was Luque’s 8th UFC win, and he’s finished all of his victims before the final buzzer – leaving just 6 seconds remaining here – while it was the first time Barberena had ever been stopped by strikes.

Whether both men have granite-filled craniums is a theory that probably needs checking out after a war like this. Sure, taking that many punches won’t do them any good in the future, but it sure as hell was fun to watch.