Vicente Luque might be a nice guy, but that doesn’t disqualify him from being a potential contender for the BMF title.
Luque meets Stephen Thompson on the main card of UFC 244 which takes place November 2 in Madison Square Garden, New York. Headlining that card, of course, is the BMF title fight between Jorge Masvidal and Nate Diaz.
The general opinion regarding the fight and the one-off title is split. However, “The Silent Assassin” is a fan of the contest and is open to facing the winner. Even if he is far from being a trash talker.
“Definitely [I qualify as a BMF], I think that title is much more about what you do in the cage,” Luque told The Body Lock’s John Hyon Ko. “Both Nate and Masvidal, they are guys that speak up and speak their mind. But inside the cage, they are bad motherfuckers as the title says.
“And I believe I’m a bad motherfucker inside the cage. Outside, I’m a nice guy but in there, I’m there for business. So I would definitely fight the winner of that fight, I would enjoy that. But right now, I’m focusing on Thompson. Get that win and after that, I’ll see what comes for me.”
Luque definitely qualifies on the basis of his work inside the Octagon. After all, he has won 10 of his last 11 outings in the UFC, with nine of those coming by way of finish. But as he stated, the goal for now is “Wonderboy” — one of the most technical fighters in the promotion, let alone the welterweight division.
And the Brazilian is excited for what he believes will be a fun fight.
“I think every single fight is funner than the last,” he explained. “A guy like Thompson that has fought two times for the title and fought the toughest guys in the division, it is more fun obviously.
“I’ve watched him much before I even thought about being in the top 15. I used to watch him just because I enjoyed his style, I wanted to see what he was going to do. So now, to be able to fight him is super exciting. And I’ve watched a lot of tape of him not only before, but now for this fight. It’s just fun you know. I learned a lot from him as well so it’s going to be a cool fight.”
With a win against Thompson, Luque would rise up the ranks further and if he keeps it up, he could be in a position to face Hard Knocks 365 teammate and current champion Kamaru Usman soon.
According to him, they have both spoken of the possibility of fighting each other, and it won’t be a big deal either.
“We both kind of have the same mentality,” Luque said. “We train together, we want to help each other to get all the way to the top. But once you’re at the top, there is no way to avoid that. If we’re fighting for the title, then both of us are going to make a lot of money and we’re going to fight for the best position in the world, that is being the champion.
“So in that case, we would fight each other. We’re professionals. On my side, it would never diminish my friendship with him. It’s going to be an honor to fight him. I wish it happens because I want him to keep the title until I get there. He’s my friend, I want him to defend his title as much as he can. And when I get there, we’ll fight and see what happens.”
You can see the full interview below: