“When the fight was offered in the first weeks after was offered, I was like, ‘Man, I’m going to fight RDA. I can’t believe that,’” Luque said. “I had that (feeling) with Woodley, as well. When I fought Woodley, I was like, ‘Man, I’m going to fight Woodley,’ but when it comes to the fight, I’ve trained so much, I visualize this fight so many times (that) when I step in there, it’s not personal anymore. The emotions are aside, and now it’s about competing, about beating that guy that is in front of me.”
In terms of what he visualizes, Luque anticipates a grind of a fight. Dos Anjos has only been finished four times in his 46-fight, 19-year career. If anyone knows how to make a fight grimy and take advantage of all his experience, it’s Dos Anjos.
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That said, Luque still expects to finish the fight before judges are needed, the fourth or fifth round to be more specific. After more than a year away, Luque knows he needs to make a statement in order to throw his hat back into the reshuffled title picture at 170 pounds, and taking out a former champion could do just that.
“I think that it’s the perfect fight, considering everything that is happening,” Luque said. “The division is moving. We have a new champion. We don’t know who’s going to fight for the title next. A win over a guy like RDA that sets me up to maybe mess up the division again and get in that mix, for sure.”
