Vicente Luque hopes to fight Dustin Poirier in his next Octagon appearance.
On Saturday, August 12, Luque looked to end his two-fight losing streak by securing a win in the UFC Vegas 78 main event. After five rounds of fighting, ‘The Silent Assassin’ emerged victorious by unanimous decision against former UFC lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos.
Shortly after getting his hand raised, Luque joined the UFC post-fight show with Karyn Bryant, Kamaru Usman, and Alan Jouban. During their conversation, Bryant asked the Brazilian-ranked welterweight this question:
“So, who do you think you’d like next?”
Luque responded by saying:
“I think I would love to welcome Dustin Poirier, if he needs somebody. He said he might go to 170, so who knows? We can make that work.”
Poirier last fought against Justin Gaethje on July 29, losing by a second-round head-knick knockout for the vacant BMF title. In the aftermath of his UFC 291 loss, ‘The Diamond’ teased a move up to welterweight, which has not been confirmed. Therefore, Luque could be a solid option to introduce the Louisana native to the division.
Vicente Luque calls out Dustin Poirier for his next fight 👀 pic.twitter.com/BsyNOEx6vH
— Best MMA Moments (@XcellentMMA) August 13, 2023
Vicente Luque reflects on overcoming brain injury to secure win in UFC Vegas 78 main event
In August 2022, Vicente Luque fought Geoff Neal in the co-main event of UFC Vegas 59. Unfortunately for Luque, he endured an excessive amount of damage before being knocked out in the third round. ‘The Silent Assassin’ later found out he suffered a brain bleed, which could have been career-ending.
Luque overcame the adversity and bounced back on Saturday night. During the previously mentioned UFC post-fight show, the Brazilian had this to say about the importance of his win against Rafael dos Anjos:
“It was really important [to get the win against RDA]. It was like the most amazing win for me just because of so many changes in my life. I moved to Florida, moved my family, new way of life, and just training and going through the injury.”
Luque continued:
“At the beginning, not knowing if I was ever going to be able to do this again, and then I got cleared and then going through everything, through the training camp, I’m gonna fight a legend like Rafael. It’s a special win. I feel blessed, I feel amazing, and, you know, now it’s like all the decisions that we’re taken and everybody that was around me to help me, we did the right moves, and we’re victorious, that’s beautiful.”
Although he won at UFC Vegas 78, Luque has a tough road ahead to prove he’s a legitimate welterweight title contender. The 31-year-old is currently ranked number ten before potentially moving up with his latest win. Only time will tell if ‘The Silent Assassin’ can continue building momentum and earn a title shot at 170 pounds.
