• Xenforo Cloud has upgraded us to version 2.3.6. Please report any issues you experience.

Vicente Luque: As Driven as Ever

Kowboy On Sherdog

Cheers to another 20 years
Staff member
Sherdog.com Staff
Joined
Oct 20, 2004
Messages
103,599
Reaction score
180,349
maxresdefault.jpg

nner drive has never been hard for Vicente Luque to find.

Now 33 years of age and nearly a decade into a successful run in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, the battle-hardened welterweight will square off with Themba Gorimbo as part of the UFC 310 undercard this Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Luque grows increasingly reflective as his career progresses, but his competitive fires still burn as brightly as they did when he first entered the sport.


“It’s been a privilege to bring all those great battles to the fans,” he told Sherdog.com. “It’s something I’ve always been able to do. It makes me happy. It’s what I always tried to do—have exciting fights. It’s my style. That won’t change. Of course, this is the most challenging moment in my UFC career. It serves as even greater motivation to get back to my winning ways. I wish to get to a point I haven’t yet reached: a title bout. I’m still evolving. Without a doubt, I can still be fighting up to 40 years old, but I see the next three years as my best.”

Luque was originally scheduled to face Nick Diaz, who has not fought since 2021. The former Strikeforce champion withdrew from the card for undisclosed reasons in November, clearing the way for Gorimbo.

“I’m not entirely sure what happened,” Luque said. “There were many rumors that he was having personal problems. I’m not sure. What I can say is that I hope he can get beyond whatever it was, and he can come back and continue to fight in the best way possible. I am happy that the UFC was able to find me a new opponent in short order.”

Gorimbo enters the cage on the strength of a four-fight winning streak. The 33-year-old Xtreme Couture rep last suited up at UFC Fight Night 244, where he took a three-round unanimous decision from Niko Price on Oct. 12. Gorimbo boasts eight finishes among his 14 professional victories.

“Regarding technique, Themba is a complete fighter,” Luque said. “He has good striking. He’s tall and knows how to use his reach, and he also makes good use of his wrestling and submissions. He is a true MMA fighter, and because he’s a newer guy on a streak, I’m sure he’s hungry to get into the rankings. That means that he’ll be very well prepared. I’ll be prepared myself, not just to defend my spot in the rankings but to get back to winning and making my way back up. I aim to show him that I’m at a different level. I see that I have all the tools necessary to defeat him in every area.”

Luque steps back into the spotlight in a bit of a tailspin, having lost three of his past four fights. The Kill Cliff Fight Club export last suited up on March 30, when he succumbed to second-round punches from Joaquin Buckley at UFC on ESPN 54.

“I’m coming off losses, of course, but I’ve done a lot of learning and improving,” Luque said, “and I’m ready to make my comeback.”




 
He can beat Themba maybe but he is pretty shot. I think the problems from the Neal fight will stay with him. Scary stuff.
 
I don't see the rest of his career going well for him. He suffered some nasty losses and taken part in some brutal fights. It's sad because the division and sport needs guys like this around.
 
maxresdefault.jpg

nner drive has never been hard for Vicente Luque to find.

Now 33 years of age and nearly a decade into a successful run in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, the battle-hardened welterweight will square off with Themba Gorimbo as part of the UFC 310 undercard this Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Luque grows increasingly reflective as his career progresses, but his competitive fires still burn as brightly as they did when he first entered the sport.


“It’s been a privilege to bring all those great battles to the fans,” he told Sherdog.com. “It’s something I’ve always been able to do. It makes me happy. It’s what I always tried to do—have exciting fights. It’s my style. That won’t change. Of course, this is the most challenging moment in my UFC career. It serves as even greater motivation to get back to my winning ways. I wish to get to a point I haven’t yet reached: a title bout. I’m still evolving. Without a doubt, I can still be fighting up to 40 years old, but I see the next three years as my best.”

Luque was originally scheduled to face Nick Diaz, who has not fought since 2021. The former Strikeforce champion withdrew from the card for undisclosed reasons in November, clearing the way for Gorimbo.

“I’m not entirely sure what happened,” Luque said. “There were many rumors that he was having personal problems. I’m not sure. What I can say is that I hope he can get beyond whatever it was, and he can come back and continue to fight in the best way possible. I am happy that the UFC was able to find me a new opponent in short order.”

Gorimbo enters the cage on the strength of a four-fight winning streak. The 33-year-old Xtreme Couture rep last suited up at UFC Fight Night 244, where he took a three-round unanimous decision from Niko Price on Oct. 12. Gorimbo boasts eight finishes among his 14 professional victories.

“Regarding technique, Themba is a complete fighter,” Luque said. “He has good striking. He’s tall and knows how to use his reach, and he also makes good use of his wrestling and submissions. He is a true MMA fighter, and because he’s a newer guy on a streak, I’m sure he’s hungry to get into the rankings. That means that he’ll be very well prepared. I’ll be prepared myself, not just to defend my spot in the rankings but to get back to winning and making my way back up. I aim to show him that I’m at a different level. I see that I have all the tools necessary to defeat him in every area.”

Luque steps back into the spotlight in a bit of a tailspin, having lost three of his past four fights. The Kill Cliff Fight Club export last suited up on March 30, when he succumbed to second-round punches from Joaquin Buckley at UFC on ESPN 54.

“I’m coming off losses, of course, but I’ve done a lot of learning and improving,” Luque said, “and I’m ready to make my comeback.”





I'm glad he ain't fighting Nick. That video of Nick on the street corner all alone lighting stuff on fire while tweeking is highly concerning imo.
 
I think Luque can still make waves, he's only 33 so he still has some time left. Too bad for him that Diaz withdrew, he would've had a good highlight reel on that one.
He's 60 in fight years, a brain bleed and countless wars are not good for the body, nor is the hard sparring they do at Kill Cliff.

The Vicente who fought Buckley and RDA is not a contender, far from it.
 
maxresdefault.jpg

nner drive has never been hard for Vicente Luque to find.

Now 33 years of age and nearly a decade into a successful run in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, the battle-hardened welterweight will square off with Themba Gorimbo as part of the UFC 310 undercard this Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Luque grows increasingly reflective as his career progresses, but his competitive fires still burn as brightly as they did when he first entered the sport.


“It’s been a privilege to bring all those great battles to the fans,” he told Sherdog.com. “It’s something I’ve always been able to do. It makes me happy. It’s what I always tried to do—have exciting fights. It’s my style. That won’t change. Of course, this is the most challenging moment in my UFC career. It serves as even greater motivation to get back to my winning ways. I wish to get to a point I haven’t yet reached: a title bout. I’m still evolving. Without a doubt, I can still be fighting up to 40 years old, but I see the next three years as my best.”

Luque was originally scheduled to face Nick Diaz, who has not fought since 2021. The former Strikeforce champion withdrew from the card for undisclosed reasons in November, clearing the way for Gorimbo.

“I’m not entirely sure what happened,” Luque said. “There were many rumors that he was having personal problems. I’m not sure. What I can say is that I hope he can get beyond whatever it was, and he can come back and continue to fight in the best way possible. I am happy that the UFC was able to find me a new opponent in short order.”

Gorimbo enters the cage on the strength of a four-fight winning streak. The 33-year-old Xtreme Couture rep last suited up at UFC Fight Night 244, where he took a three-round unanimous decision from Niko Price on Oct. 12. Gorimbo boasts eight finishes among his 14 professional victories.

“Regarding technique, Themba is a complete fighter,” Luque said. “He has good striking. He’s tall and knows how to use his reach, and he also makes good use of his wrestling and submissions. He is a true MMA fighter, and because he’s a newer guy on a streak, I’m sure he’s hungry to get into the rankings. That means that he’ll be very well prepared. I’ll be prepared myself, not just to defend my spot in the rankings but to get back to winning and making my way back up. I aim to show him that I’m at a different level. I see that I have all the tools necessary to defeat him in every area.”

Luque steps back into the spotlight in a bit of a tailspin, having lost three of his past four fights. The Kill Cliff Fight Club export last suited up on March 30, when he succumbed to second-round punches from Joaquin Buckley at UFC on ESPN 54.

“I’m coming off losses, of course, but I’ve done a lot of learning and improving,” Luque said, “and I’m ready to make my comeback.”





Luque has always been one of my favorite fighters, I hope he can get a win here.
 
Vincente is the man but he hasn't looked great lately. I hope he can bounce back.
 
I wouldn’t be surprised at all if Themba finishes him. It seems like the Geoff fight was career altering damage and now Luque doesn’t react well to getting hit. He was very tentative in his last 2 fights and quit in there against Buckley.

I remember when JDS took those beatings from Cain and soon after he reacted poorly to getting hit. He would cover up, freeze up, or turn away.

Hopefully Luque can turn back the clock but I doubt it.
 
i think this dude should've retired like 3 fights ago. i don't care how young he is, the way he moves and how he completely folds to very little damage compared to before he had that brain bleed is night and day. i'm surprised UFC keeps him around, he seems like a liability.
 
weird downfall, but maybe some weird comeback as well..
 
He's 60 in fight years, a brain bleed and countless wars are not good for the body, nor is the hard sparring they do at Kill Cliff.

The Vicente who fought Buckley and RDA is not a contender, far from it.
But the Vicente fighting Themba could be.
<seedat>
 
i think this dude should've retired like 3 fights ago. i don't care how young he is, the way he moves and how he completely folds to very little damage compared to before he had that brain bleed is night and day. i'm surprised UFC keeps him around, he seems like a liability.
It's pretty damn insane he gets sanctioned considering how fights tend to be cancelled, and fighters even released, if their brain scans show something wrong. Now I'm no medical expert but if an athlete performing in contact sports, let alone combat sports for that matter, suffered a brain bleed due to the trauma sustained in that sport I would consider it an automatic retirement.
 
I like the guy but I think he’s washed, too much abuse over his career, hope I’m wrong though
 
Back
Top