The Time Is Now For Vicente Luque

“That makes me really excited and it makes — I don’t know how to say it, but in my mind, everything that I’m doing starts to make sense because people recognize my style, recognize what I bring to the fights,” said Luque, clearly moved by the cult hero status he’s developed while working his way into the Top 10 in the crowded welterweight division. “I’m trying to be able to go out there and stick to strategy, stick to what the game plan is, and get those wins, but I’ll never not have an exciting fight; that’s just not in me.

“I’m not going to fight boring,” he added. “I look back to guys like Wanderlei Silva, to Shogun (Rua), to guys that really put their heart into fighting and went out there to do their best and excite the crowd — that’s who I am and I believe I can keep doing that and get to a title fight and become the champion.

“Whenever I announce a fight and people show a lot of support and people show that they want to watch me fight, I’m thrilled by that because I just want to keep putting on exciting fights and thrilling the fans.”

In addition to being one of the most consistently entertaining competitors on the roster, Luque is a diligent student of the game, taking every opportunity he can to learn and improve, recognizing that the only way to reach the top of the heap in the 170-pound weight class is by turning his occasional setbacks into opportunities to learn and gleaning as much knowledge as possible from those around him.

Recently, a big positive for him has been cornering his longtime friend and training partner Gilbert Burns.

“I got to learn a lot of things that he lived and he learned just by being a part of that,” Luque said of being part of Burns’ camp and corner for each of his last several fights, including his breakthrough win over Woodley last spring and his recent loss to Kamaru Usman at UFC 258. “It’s really important because eventually I’m going to be the one fighting for the title, so I can take these lessons and use them for myself.

“I watched Gilbert’s fight with him — I was cornering him — so I could see Woodley fighting right in front of me, and that helps a lot. I also watched a lot of tape on him, not only for this fight, but also back when I was helping Gilbert for his fight, so I think being able to adjust my game — not change who I am, but adjust my tools to suit the kind of game Tyron Woodley brings is the key to winning this fight.”

And while things didn’t work out favorably for his long-time friend and teammate earlier this month, Luque came away from the experience with an even greater, more intimate understanding of what it takes to succeed at the highest levels in this sport.

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“At this high level, it’s not so much that the fighters are better or that we’ve got to train harder — we just cannot afford to make the mistakes we used to make in the past,” he said. “Little mistakes? We’re going to pay for that.

“It was really valuable because I’m working my way to the top, I’ve got a big fight coming up, and it’s important for me to learn as much as I can, and if I can learn without having to step in there and learn it through fighting, even better.”

Saturday night, he’ll be the one crossing the threshold into the Octagon, taking up his position across the cage from the former champion, who arrives in Las Vegas on a three-fight slide, facing questions about his future.

While some are ready to write off “The Chosen One,” Luque has no interest in underestimating the 38-year-old veteran.