-
Brett Okamoto, ESPN Staff Writer
A welterweight matchup between Sean Brady and Vicente Luque will headline the UFC’s first trip to Atlantic City, New Jersey, in nearly six years on March 30, UFC CEO Dana White announced Friday.
The UFC has not visited Atlantic City since April 2018. Brady and Luque will headline a UFC Fight Night event, which will take place at Boardwalk Hall.
Brady (16-1) is inching toward his first UFC title fight. Fighting out of Philadelphia, he is 6-1 since signing with the UFC in 2019. His only loss came in 2022, in the form of a TKO to highly ranked Belal Muhammad.
The 31-year-old is coming off a submission victory over former middleweight title challenger Kelvin Gastelum.
Luque (22-9-1) has experienced several ups and downs in the UFC. He boasts an impressive UFC record of 15-5, with wins over the likes of Muhammad, Tyron Woodley, Michael Chiesa and Rafael dos Anjos. However, he has also suffered some key defeats that have kept him out of title contention, including a rematch to Muhammad and a knockout loss to Geoff Neal.
Brady is the UFC’s No. 7-ranked welterweight; Luque is No. 9. Luque had been scheduled to fight Ian Garry in a high-profile matchup in December, but the bout was canceled when Garry was diagnosed with pneumonia.