Vicente Luque believes in the USADA process, but he does feel that Neil Magny is telling the truth about his failed drug test being accidental.
Rochester, NY — Needless to say, it’s been a tumultuous week for UFC welterweight Vincente Luque. Luque (15-6-1) had expected to be facing Neil Magny in the UFC Rochester co-main event. Instead, while fight week was still unfolding, Magny was pulled from the card due to a failed drug test. LFA veteran Derrick Krantz has stepped up in his place, keeping Luque on the card — but creating a high risk, low reward situation for the Brazilian-American.
Well, some might see it that way. Luque, however, told Cageside Press and other media outlets on Thursday that he sees things differently. “I never think fighting is a lose-lose, especially because I love fighting,” he explained.
“So whenever I can go [out] there and do what I love, for me, it’s a win.” Especially since he risks being lost in the shuffle otherwise. “If I am not active, I think other welterweights will be active, and they’re going to have visibility.” So while he’s not fighting a top fifteen guy at UFC Rochester, or someone who will move him up the rankings, “I’m still going to go out there and have the opportunity to show what I do.”
From a visibility standpoint, that matters most. “More fans are going to watch me, more hype on my name, so I think it’s a positive fight for sure.”
Although he admits that Magny’s failed drug test “kind of” surprised him, Vicente Luque also believes Magny’s explanation. “He doesn’t look like a guy that kind of does any illegal things. At the same time, he said that it was probably something accidental. I believe him, I hope he can resolve that,” Luque said. “I’m all for USADA, I like the system that USADA tests us and keeps the sport clean. These things happen sometimes, but usually it gets clarified, and it’s not going to be a big deal hopefully.”
Incidents like Magny’s keep Luque checking his own supplements on the regular. “Definitely, I’m always checking. I try to take the same supplements I did since the start of the program, so I kind of stick with the same ones. Whenever I’m going to change, I look for the logos that kind of are approved by USADA.” Beyond that, Luque is sure to list all supplements he takes when USADA tests him, “so if anything happens by accident, they will know what I took and they can test it. But that’s all I can do. And I’m confident, I just use supplements and don’t do anything else, so I’m confident I’m not going to have problems with that.”
Luque is not going into UFC Rochester this weekend alone. Instead, he has three other teammates from Hard Knocks 365 on the card with him: Des Green, Danny Roberts, and Nik Lentz. That’s a big boost in terms of morale, said Luque. Just having his brothers in arms with him.
“Definitely, it’s that mentality of going to war. So when you go to war and you have all your squad together, you get more confident, you get that energy,” he stated. “Cutting weight is a bad part of the camp, but when you have your buddies that are also cutting weight, everybody with a good energy, it’s much better for sure.”
Something else that might give him energy, or at least more motivation, is recently getting married. Getting married, Luque said, “it’s growing. It’s steps in life, and I enjoy this. I enjoy developing. I think It’s one more step, and it’s definitely going make me an even better fighter.”
UFC Rochester takes place Saturday, May 18 at the Blue Cross Arena in Rochester, NY. The card airs live on ESPN+, and Fight Pass/TSN in Canada.
