Vicente Luque discusses return to the octagon following traumatic brain injury
Vicente Luque is raring to return to action. The perennial UFC welterweight was forced to the sidelines for a year after suffering a brain hemorrhage following his knockout loss to Geoff Neal at UFC Vegas 59 in August last year.
Following his diagnosis, Luque was given a mandatory one-year medical suspension. However, ‘The Silent Assassin’ has now been cleared by the Nevada Athletic Commission to compete again. He is slated to face former lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos at UFC Vegas 78 this weekend.
At a recent pre-fight presser, Vicente Luque opened up about his life-threatening injury and how grateful he is to be able to fight again. He stated:
“That was definitely unfortunate, but I was 100 percent blessed to be able to recover very well. Since the first day, right after the fight when I got the news, they did all the testing, all the exams and everything went well. My body was recovering… Now I’m back and 100 percent. I would even say I’m better than 100 percent. I feel a much better fighter than I was before. I’m definitely blessed.”
As a result of the brain bleeds, Vicente Luque was forced to lay off sparring for six months. Explaining how his training routine has changed as a result, he stated:
“Even the way I spar has changed. It’s much more technical, and I know how to work in a way where I’m not getting into brawls in sparring anymore.”
Watch the full interview below:
Vicente Luque says he will be throwing everything he has at Rafael dos Anjos at UFC Vegas 78
Vicente Luque isn’t planning on holding back during his fight against Rafael dos Anjos this weekend. The two welterweights are set to fight at UFC Vegas 78 and will be headlining the Fight Night event.
As mentioned above, Luque is returning to action after a year on the sidelines. After suffering a nasty brain hemorrhage as a result of his last loss, the 31-year-old American had to make many changes to his training and sparring regime. However, Luque is confident that he’ll be ready for Dos Anjos on fight night and recently claimed he’ll be using every weapon in his arsenal to secure a victory.
In the same UFC Vegas 78 media day presser, Vicente Luque was asked about his game plan going into the fight. He stated:
“I definitely agree with him in the sense that he’s the more experienced guy, but at the same time, I think I’ve been in 31-32 MMA fights… So I also got experience on my side. My plan is to go in there and try to beat him with all the tools that I have… Two of us are really well-rounded, and it’s going to be about who wants it more. I believe I’ll want it more that night.”
