Athletes
Vicente Luque | Letting Go
Brazilian Veteran Discusses Fresh Start At Middleweight Ahead Of UFC 330
One of the most difficult things to reckoning with as you get older in professional sports is the fact that even though the person in the mirror looks like the same individual that was at the top of their game three, four, five years earlier, that just isn’t the case anymore.
For the truly elite, it can be especially daunting, as years spent at or near the top always feel like they’re right around the corner again, even when your performance and results suggest they’re a block or two away. Holding out hope for a return to the heights you’ve previously reach can exacerbate things, make one dig in further, unwilling to see that times have changed or a change is needed.
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That’s what Vicente Luque was dealing with over the final couple years competing in the welterweight division.
“I think I was holding onto a hope that I had to let go of, which was ‘I’ve been in the Top 5, I wanna get there again; let’s see if we can find a way,’ but there was not a clear plan or path,” admitted the Brazilian veteran, who makes his second appearance in the middleweight division this weekend against Tresean Gore at UFC 330 at Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia. “When I was in the welterweight division these last years, I was seeking a way to keep going. When you think about that as a fighter, that’s not how you want to think about fighting — that you’re trying to survive... After that fight with (Joel) Alvarez, that’s when I let that go and said, ‘Forget this division! Let’s start thinking about middleweight,’ and new doors opened. I realized I have so much still to do.”
Luque’s debut in the division came in April, where he made quick work of former interim title challenger and divisional mainstay Kelvin Gastelum, submitting him in the first round.
As great as the performance was, it was the way he felt throughout training camp and the years spent working with standouts in the 185-pound weight class at Kill Cliff FC in South Florida that propelled the affable Brazilian into the Octagon in Miami brimming with confidence, allowing him to deliver such a dominant showing in his first middleweight start.
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“Training is such a big part of what I do," began Luque, who has earned finishes in 21 of his 24 career wins and carries a reputation as an all-action fighter into his clash with Gore this weekend. “I try to be in training as much as I can and that’s how I measure where my career is at... I’ve always enjoyed training and I’ve always enjoyed pursuing improvement, developing, and that was tough in the last four or five fights (at welterweight) because the last three or four weeks was just really hard with the weight cut, with the diet. I wasn’t enjoying it as much. Now, training camp is still hard, so I feel sore and all of that, but I enjoy it. I have the fire to enjoy the process, and I know that is what I need to seek the top and enjoy the years I still have left in my career.
"That’s what made it easy for me to decide when I had to decide,” he added when asked about the litany of top talents that currently and have previously populated the room in Kill Cliff. “I’ve been training with these guys since I moved here in ’23. I felt good, I could take their shots, and I could give them good training. I helped Gregory (Rodrigues) for a few fights, GM3 (Gerald Meerschaert) for a few sparrings; Marc (Andre Barriault) as well.
“Whenever I could, I would go out there and spar them — Brendan Allen, RDR (Reinier de Ridder), and now Nassourdine Imavov was here, so getting all these rounds with these top guys at the middleweight division gave me that extra approval that ‘I’m here; I already train with the best guys.’”
That translated into a standout effort against Gastelum, and now, having gotten things moving in the right direction and heading back to the East Coast where he still has family, Luque is ready to put forth another strong showing against Gore this weekend.
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“I do have family still in the New York, New Jersey area — my dad is there, my aunt, my uncle my grandfather, a lot of cousins,” said Luque, who was born in Westwood, New Jersey, living there until he was six years old. “Whenever I’m on the East Coast, it always feels like I’m fighting at home and to go out there and put on a show for the home crowd is always fun, always exciting... He’s a really exciting guy — he goes out there and he tries to knock guys out, finish guys however he can. Sometimes he gets hit, but he just keeps pushing forward; he doesn’t back down. He kind of reminds me of me in the beginning: good striking skills, heavy hands, but he can change it up, bring some submission skills into it; most of his wins are submissions.
“Overall, a well-rounded guy, a dangerous guy, and that excites me.”
For Luque, the matchup and likely way things will play out on Saturday help provide an added spark that had been missing at times during the final couple years of his welterweight tenure.
“I know we’re going to go out there and fight,” he said with a laugh and a smile. “Difficult fights for me are the ones that are too strategic, where the guy is gonna wanna game plan me, try to not fight me, beat me on points, but when a guy is gonna go there and wanna throw down, wanna fight me, try to finish me? That fight excites me and brings the best out of me.
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“I know he’s gonna be excited to try and get a win over me, and I’m gonna go out there to keep moving up. I’m gonna make a statement in the middleweight division.”
After feeling stuck and without a clear direction forward for a couple years, Luque now has renewed enthusiasm and excitement about his career, with fresh matchups and new possibilities on the horizon now that he’s set up shop in the 185-pound weight class.
Vicente Luque: 'Now I Feel Like An Up-And-Comer' | UFC 330
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Vicente Luque: 'Now I Feel Like An Up-And-Comer' | UFC 330
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Those possibilities fill him with gratitude and appreciation, which in turn gives him the added push to step into the Octagon and deliver the kind of performance he’s been known for throughout his career.
“At this point in my career, the main thing us to go out there, enjoy being in that Octagon because I’m privileged and I’m blessed to be able to have such a long and rewarding career in the UFC, and I still get to do it after all the ups and downs.
“So being able to step in there and put on a show for everybody and enjoy that, you’ll see the best out of ‘The Silent Assassin.’”
UFC 330: Makhachev vs Machado Garry took place live from Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on August 15, 2026. See the final Prelim & Main Card Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC FIGHT PASS!
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