Vicente Luque steps foot in the Octagon again this Saturday Night at UFC Fight Night Chile, kicking off the main card against Chad Laprise.
The welterweight contender hadn’t competed in a while, but then saw an opportunity to fight and Chile and took that chance for a very personal reason.
“For some time, I was not getting fights. I was trying to get some fights, but it wasn’t working out. Then when I saw the opportunity to fight in Chile, that’s the opportunity I wanted. I have family in Chile, so I wanted to be on this card for sure. So we started talking to the UFC, me and Ali (Abdelaziz), my manager. We started talking to the UFC in February about that fight, it was something I really wanted. So I thought I’d wait a little bit and I’ll fight in May because that’s the fight I want and I want to fight in front of family. The first UFC in South America outside of Brazil, so that’s going to be a big deal. That’s why I took so long to fight again, but I’m ready to get back in there and do what I do,” says Luque in an exclusive interview with Fightful’s James Lynch.
Luque may have wanted to wait to compete in front of family, but that wait took almost six months of time to complete, as his last bout came in October of 2017.
Even though Luque hasn’t been in action in a little while, one thing the fighter expects in Chile is nothing short of a war against Laprise.
“I see a striking match up for sure, we’re going to to out there and strike each other. Its going to be nice and I’m really excited for it, I’m always ready. My ground game is always something I’ve shown, I don’t go in there looking for it…necessarily. I always have it on point, so if he’s looking to start his ground game…I’ll be ready for that as well. I’m looking forward to fighting stand up, having a three round war. If he wants to come in and put on the pressure, I’m going to put on the pressure from the start. If he can take it, we’re going to go to war for sure…maybe fight of the night,” says Luque.
UFC Fight Night Chile takes place on Saturday, May 19 from the Movistar Arena in Santiago, Chile with Demian Maia and Kamaru Usman headlining. Fightful is providing live coverage of the event, with a post-show podcast to follow.
