Vicente Catta Preta Luque was born on November 27, 1991, in Westwood, New Jersey, to a Brazilian mother and a Chilean father, according to his Wikipedia biography. When he was six years old his parents separated, and he moved with his mother to Brasilia, Brazil, the city he has long described as his hometown despite being American-born. Raised trilingual in Portuguese, Spanish and English, Luque has said his international upbringing, shaped in part by a diplomat grandfather, gave him a dual identity that he carried into his fighting career representing Brazil.

Luque started training in karate at age three under his mother, herself a black belt, before drifting into soccer as a child and eventually discovering Muay Thai in his mid-teens, which led him into Brazilian jiu-jitsu and mixed martial arts. He won the 2009 Brazilian Amateur Kickboxing Cup as an early accolade and made his professional MMA debut that same year, going on to compile a 7-4-1 record fighting for regional Brazilian promotions, a resume documented on his Sherdog fighter profile, before he caught the attention of UFC matchmakers.

Luque’s path to the UFC ran through The Ultimate Fighter season 21 in 2015, where he won his opening bout by submission before losing in the semifinals by split decision. He made his official UFC debut at The Ultimate Fighter 21 Finale in July 2015, dropping a decision to Michael Graves, but rebounded that December with a first-round submission of Hayder Hassan that earned him his first Performance of the Night bonus. His profile rose further in November 2016 when he knocked out Belal Muhammad in just 89 seconds at UFC 205, a result highlighted in the UFC’s own career highlights recap of his rise through the welterweight division.

Luque’s peak stretch came between 2019 and 2021, when he strung together a TKO win over Bryan Barberena and a split-decision victory against Mike Perry, both earning Fight of the Night honors, before submitting former UFC champion Tyron Woodley with a brabo choke at UFC 260 in March 2021 and finishing Michael Chiesa with a D’Arce choke at UFC 265 that August. According to his official UFC athlete page, he holds the UFC record for most D’Arce and brabo choke submissions in promotion history and shares the record for most anaconda choke finishes, including the fastest anaconda choke submission ever recorded in the UFC, a 52-second finish of Themba Gorimbo in December 2024. Across his career he has collected nine total post-fight bonuses, five for Performance of the Night and four for Fight of the Night, tying him for the second most bonuses in UFC welterweight division history.

Luque’s nickname, “The Silent Assassin,” reflects the reserved, understated persona he carries outside the cage, a contrast to the high-output, finish-first style that has made him a consistent fan favorite, as tracked on his Roster Watch fighter profile. His willingness to engage in wars rather than play it safe for a decision has kept him in frequent rotation on UFC pay-per-view and Fight Night cards, and his standing among the welterweight division’s all-time leaders in finishes and post-fight bonuses has made him one of the more respected names among hardcore MMA fans, even without ever holding UFC gold.

Luque’s sponsorship income has come primarily through combat sports apparel brands Venum and Fight.ID, deals described by EssentiallySports as “modest but steady” rather than headline-grabbing. Unlike UFC stars who command seven-figure outside endorsement portfolios, Luque’s sponsorship earnings function as a supplement to his fight purses and bonuses rather than a separate major income stream.

Luque has not built a publicly documented business empire outside of fighting. His commercial footprint centers on his personal website and merchandise tied to his fighter brand, along with his long standing team affiliations, training with Kill Cliff FC in Florida and maintaining ties to Cerrado MMA in Brasilia, relationships noted in his Wikipedia profile. No restaurant ventures, apparel companies, or outside equity stakes have been reported in the coverage of his career, marking a contrast with fighters who have leaned more heavily into business projects alongside competing.

No verified real estate portfolio, vehicle collection, or other major asset holdings have been publicly documented for Luque. Reporting on his personal life, including a profile from Dojo News Network, describes him splitting time between his family roots in Brasilia, Brazil, and a training and church community base in Florida, where he lives while preparing for fights, rather than detailing any specific properties, luxury vehicles, or other big-ticket purchases. That contrasts with the more visible spending habits of some of his UFC peers and fits a fighter whose finances have been described as built steadily rather than lavishly.