MMA nicknames are sometimes as infamous as the fighters themselves. Some are given, some just happen organically. Every nickname has a story, and for Vicente Luque, his late coach bestowed his upon him.
“The Silent Assassin” fits Luque quite well. He doesn’t trash talk, and but he absolutely assassinates his opponents. While he didn’t necessarily like it in the beginning, the name has grown on him.
In a recent interview with Cageside Press, Luque revealed the origins of his nickname.
“So that nickname, it came when I was on the Ultimate Fighter: Blackzilians vs. ATT,” Luque said. “Glenn Robinson used to be my manager, and he was the owner of Blackzilians. Unfortunately, he passed away already, but he was a great man; he gave me the opportunity to eventually be in the UFC. And to many other fighters, you know, he managed Gilbert Burns, Kamaru Usman, and many, many other fighters that did super well. He was a great guy.”
“When we were in the show and in the house, like, I’ve always been like a quiet guy, especially when it comes to talking about fights. So, guys asked me, ‘okay, how’s your fight going to be?’ I would be like, ‘oh, it’s gonna be a good fight. I’m ready. I’ve been training, I think I’m going to do well, but we’ll see the other guy is tough as well. So we got to see what’s going to happen.'”
“But once I got in there, and I fought, I always put on great shows. I always went out there to finish my opponents, no matter what they present to me. And that style [of fighting], Glenn looked at it and said, ‘hey, you’re like The Silent Assassin because you don’t talk much, but when you get in there, you just kill your opponents. You go out there, and you do work. So that’s gonna be your nickname.'”
Luque wasn’t entirely sold. “I didn’t want it at first. I was like, ‘no, man, I don’t like nicknames. You know, Vicente Luque is good enough,” Luque said. “When we get into the UFC, they give us a lot of paperwork to fill out. And then there is your name or nickname, where you come from, and the city you represent. I left the nickname blank; I put nothing. Before [Glenn Robinson] sent that back to the UFC, he put the Silent Assassin.”
“So, he gave me the nickname, and you know, it’s something I really appreciate now. I think it makes sense. And it’s something that I don’t know; now I think it fits really well to my character.”
We agree. It fits very well. And having silently built up an impressive resume, Vicente Luque will compete in his first UFC main event on April 16 against Belal Muhammad.
Watch the rest of our interview with Vicente Luque above. UFC Vegas 51 takes place this Saturday, April 16, 2022 at the Apex in Las Vegas.
