Luque wants UFC Uruguay headliner against either Till or Ponzinibbio

After notching a fifth straight win at UFC Rochester, Vicente Luque is now looking to face higher-ranked competition.

Number 15-ranked UFC welterweight Vicente Luque was originally slated to face Neil Magny at UFC Rochester on Saturday. But after Magny failed a USADA test, “The Silent Assassin” instead fought UFC newcomer Derrick Krantz, whom he defeated inside four minutes of action via TKO.

Now on a five-fight win streak, Luque is looking to further move forward by facing higher-ranked contenders in the welterweight division. He is also expecting to, at the very least, headline the UFC’s upcoming card in Uruguay on August 10th.

“I want a top ten (opponent), and I want the Uruguay main event. I think I have the big support from the Latin Americans, I’m a Spanish speaker, I have heritage, my dad is from Chile,” Luque said in a post-fight scrum. “So I definitely want to fight in that Urugay card and I think main event makes sense.”

If he does get to headline UFC Uruguay, Luque is hoping to lock horns with top-ten fighters like Darren Till or Santiago Ponzinibbio.

“Maybe Darren Till, I think that would be great. I think also (Santiago) Ponzinibbio is another option, he’s a Latin guy,” he said. “So it would be two good fights, I think, and Uruguay is the place.”

Till is currently on a two-fight losing streak courtesy of Tyron Woodley and Jorge Masvidal, respectively. Luque, however, still sees a big opportunity in such a matchup.

“He’s a big name, he’s up there, and he’s a striker. I always like to fight strikers because I’m a striker myself. So I think, especially for the crowd, it’s going to be a great fight, and I’m always excited to fight good strikers.”

Luque now holds a record of 16-6-1 (with 15 wins by stoppage).