Vicente Luque bounced back from his concussion, following his first-ever KO defeat in his last fight against Geoff Neal, and defeated on Rafael Dos Anjos in the Main Event of the UFC Vegas 78.
Ahead of his fight against Rafael, News18 spoke with Luque.
Here are excerpts from the interaction:
What originally inspired you to become an MMA fighter?
Yes. So my mom is a black belt in karate. So from a very young, I always had kind of martial arts around me and I grew up watching the Van Damme movies, watching a lot of, you know, Bruce Lee as well. And it was something that was always there, was always there with me.
And, I watched that a lot, but until 15 years old, I didn’t know that I was going to be a fighter, but then I started training Muay Thai at 15, and that’s what really got me into fighting and I started watching MMA. I watched a lot of Vanderlei Silva, Shogun, and Vitor Belfort and that’s what brought me that dream. Like, Oh, I want to be a fighter and I want to fight in the UFC one day. And yeah, it was, it was very interesting, but I always kind of like, I always had martial arts growing up.
You were born in New Jersey, USA, but grew up in Brasilia, do you have a better connection with Brazil than the USA? And is that why you choose to fight out of Brazil?
Yeah, I definitely think that I have a very good connection with the three countries because my dad is from Chile, so Chile, Brazil, and the United States are my three, three countries that really, I, I feel like I have a little bit of the three cultures, they have always influenced me and I think that’s also what makes me the fighter I am, that’s why I’m so versatile and I can do so many things.
Yeah. Because I feel like I don’t belong to one single thing. You know, I am a mix of everything. And I think that just, that just makes me more complete and I represent Brazil because Brazil, I grew up there. I live, started living in Brazil when I was seven years old. And I lived there until, uh, last year, this year, I moved to Florida, but for many, many years, more than 20 years, I grew up in Brazil and all my friends are from Brazil, a big part of my family.
My wife and my son, you know, they are Brazilian. So I just felt like this is what I, what I must represent. But I always talk also about the United States and especially New Jersey. My dad lives in New Jersey and I have a lot of family there too. And in Chile, Santiago. I still have family there. I got to fight in the UFC, in Chile, and that was great.
And the support I have, from these countries is amazing as well. So for me, I think it’s, it’s always, it’s better. It’s like, you know, the more global I can be, the better it is because I get very positive feedback from everybody. And that’s, that’s always amazing. Yeah, I mean, you have so many countries like, you know, behind you supporting you so many cultures, you know, embedded into who you are as a person.
What’s the story behind your nickname “The Silent Assassin?”
That happened in the Ultimate Fighter 21. That’s how I got to the UFC. And at that time, my manager was Glenn Robinson. He was the owner of Black Zillions.
And I, I was there in the show and, you know, a lot of the guys would say like, Oh, I’m gonna go there and do this. I’m gonna knock this guy out. I’m gonna submit this guy. And they talked a lot, but sometimes they went out there and when they fought, the fight wasn’t as good as they say it was gonna be. Now, I did the contrary.
When it was interview time, I just said, yeah, I’m gonna go in there and… I’m going to do what I can do. I, I train and that’s it. I didn’t talk much, but when I got into the fight, I would put on a show and do really really good fights and get a lot of finishes. So my manager at the time, Glenn, he said, Hey, I’m, I’m going to call you the silent assassin because you don’t talk much, but when you get in there, you kill your opponents and, and from then on, I became the silent assassin.
Who are your top 5 MMA fighters of all time?
I would put top one, George St. Pierre, just because, you know, he’s a great fighter in and out of the octagon. You know, he’s a great example as well. After that, Shogun. So Mauricio Shogun Rua for me was a big, big inspiration. You know, I’ve always really… Liked him.
Third place, Vitor Belfort. I think he’s a beast, very, very good striking, very good boxing. And I got to train with him personally, like in and I do have a good friendship with him relationship. So it’s a guy that, you know, was an idol. And now I have the honor to call a friend as well. Then I would go with Antonio ‘Minotauro’ Nogueira.
So the big knock, Minotauro, is an amazing, amazing fighter, but also an amazing ambassador for the UFC. I have worked a lot with him because of the UFC, you know, and he’s always looking out for all the new fighters up in commerce. Calls us. He sends us messages. He wants to know how we’re doing, you know, he gives us counseling for the future, you know, say, Hey, you got to think of your future, build your image, you know, one day you’re not going to fight anymore.
So you got to think about how you’re going to retire. And that’s, that’s very important because sometimes we don’t think and Minotauro is a guy that is doing that, you know, is helping everybody with that. And number five, let me think. I’m going to go with Robbie Lawler, who recently retired, and also a guy that I’ve trained a lot with at Kill Cliff, and he’s a great person, you know, he’s a guy that, that helps everybody in training, you know, he tries to give all his knowledge in there, and at the same time, he’s a beast, he’s a great fighter, has put on amazing shows for all the fans, so that’s my top five.
How has training camp been so far?
It has been great, feeling really, really well, you know, really well trained. Everything was done here in Florida. I was in Florida at Kill Cliff, so yeah, really good.
How does it feel like headlining and being the main event for this card?
Yeah, for me, it’s, it’s an honor, you know, to be a main event in the UFC. This has always been my dream. This is going to be my second main event, but I’m going to be fighting now a legend in Rafael Dos Anjos, you know, a former champion in the UFC. So for me, it’s a big fight. Very important. And I think it’s great for my future in the division.
What’s your confidence level looking like heading into this fight against Rafael Dos Anjos?
Yeah, I definitely think that it’s something that I got to work on. That’s why I do sports psychology for many, many years. I have my sports psychologist that helps me out with that. And it’s all about understanding his experience. He’s a very experienced guy. He has fought many, uh, main events, many five-rounders.
And I have to be able to explore my tools and where I’m good at. So I think that’s, that’s the main focus so that I can build that confidence. I understand that he is more experienced than me. But I can go in there and surprise him. I can bring him something new that he hasn’t seen. So, that has been the focus for this fight.
You and Rafael Dos Anjos are both pretty clean strikers, although you do have the reach advantage. What strategy are you looking for to make the difference on Saturday?
Yeah, I think the main thing is to really be able to maintain a distance that is favorable for me. So as you said, I have a reach advantage. Uh, I have, I think more tools, I’m able to switch stances to move very well.
So I think that’s going to be key in the fight, be able to control that distance and keep him at a range where I can touch him and I’m not going to be as touched as much.
You were on the receiving end of a KO for the first time against Geoff Neal, how have you bounced back from that for this fight?
Yeah, I think that, as you said, that was the first time I ever was knocked out. And I think it was a different experience because, Before that, I didn’t know how it was. So it was kind of like a fear I had. And then I saw it’s not that bad. You know, I never want to be knocked out again, but it’s something that is totally in my control.
It’s about being aware of my defense, uh, knowing how important it is to move out of the shots. And I actually think it made me. A better fighter because now I started focusing on a lot of things that I didn’t focus so much on in the past. So footwork, head movement, and all things that are going to be very important in this fight.
So I think it was, it was, you know, we never like to lose, but it teaches us a lot of things and makes us become better.
Any message for your fans, especially in India?
Yes, first of all, I want to thank all the fans in India, you know, we, as fighters, do what we do because of the fans, because the fans appreciate watching us going out there and putting on a show. And what I hope to do is not only to put on a great show for everyone that was watching but also to inspire the young ones that dream of maybe being fighters themselves and tell them it is possible.
I come from a city in Brazil where there weren’t many fighters. And I, I got there and now I’m an example for more fighters over there that are getting the UFC too. So I think that everybody, you know, if they believe, if they stay true and, and, and put on the hard work, they can make it, you know, to the UFC.
And, that’s what I want to show. I want to give this example to everybody and put on a great fight.
Watch the LIVE coverage of UFC Fight Night – Luque vs. Dos Anjos on Sony Sports Ten 2 (English), Sony Sports Ten 3 (Hindi) and Sony Sports Ten 4 (Tamil & Telugu) channels at 04:30 am IST on 13th August 2023
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