Saturday’s UFC on ESPN+ 14 co-main event between Vicente Luque (17-6-1 MMA, 10-2 UFC) and Mike Perry (13-5 MMA, 7-5 UFC) was a back and-forth affair. The high-action bout resulted in a high-energy crowd, who were seemingly thrilled by the two 170-pounders’ performances.

The welterweight bout was the UFC on ESPN+ 14 co-main event at Antel Arena in Montevideo, Uruguay. The event streamed on ESPN+.

As Perry moved forward and looked to land power shots from the opening bell, Luque took a different approach. The Henri Hooft protege stuck with a more technical, counter-heavy gameplan than “Platinum”. Shots from Luque late in the round opened a gash on the left side of Perry’s face.

At the beginning of the third round, both men had gotten their licks in and could have been either man’s fight. A sneaky flying knee from Luque caught Perry’s nose and opened up the flood gates.

Later in the round, the Brazilian-American grabbed a tight hold of Perry’s neck and tried to squeeze a guillotine choke. The pressure accelerated the loss of blood from Perry’s nose, which pooled all over the chest of Luque and the UFC canvas. As the blood continued to spray, Perry eventually slipped out of the choke with just seconds left in the round.

After the final bell, the broadcast showed just how shattered Perry’s nose was.

When the judges’ scorecards were read, Luque was awarded the victory via split decision.

Mike Perry’s nose is absolutely WRECKED #UFCUruguay pic.twitter.com/5E2gPxIvgZ

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) 11 tháng 8, 2019

“The game plan was pretty much what I did, but (to) not get hit as much as I did,” Luque told Michael Bisping in the post-fight interview. “He’s a tough guy. This is my first decision win in the UFC. And it couldn’t be to a tougher guy like Perry. Props to him. He really came in here and brought it. But I was pretty confident at the end of the fight.”

As for what’s next, Luque had an opponent in mind. In a respectful manner, Luque challenged former UFC title challenger Stephen Thompson to a bout later in the year – potentially in November or December.

Man. Mike Perry’s nose after the fight with Vicente Luque. #UFCMontevideo pic.twitter.com/O8IHiNJcrZ

— Marc Raimondi (@marc_raimondi) 11 tháng 8, 2019

“I’ve done four fights in less than 12 months now,” Luque said. “I think I’ve proved my point. I’m ready to face anyone in the top 10. I know Wonderboy doesn’t have a fight lined up right now. I’m up to it November (or) December, whenever he wants to I’m up to go there and throw down with him.”

With the win over Perry, Luque has now won six straight fights. Saturday’s bout marked the first time Luque had won a judges’ decision in his UFC tenure. The 27-year-old has only lost once since his UFC debut in July 2015.