LAS VEGAS – Vicente Luque sat on stage at the UFC Apex on Wednesday and answered questions from the media.
He even had to field one about his opponent, Ian Machado Garry, and the rumor, at the time, that Garry was not going to appear at media day for UFC 296 or Thursday’s press conference in the wake of what he has said is a fear for the safety of his family after UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland took aim at his marriage to Layla Machado Garry, who is 14 years his senior.
Luque said if Garry didn’t show up, he understands. (And sure enough, after Tony Ferguson finally wrapped up his media day appearance, it was confirmed that Garry was not going to appear.)
“I did hear that he’s concerned for his family,” Luque said at Wednesday’s media day for UFC 296. “If that is the reason, I have his back. I think the biggest thing that we have is our family. Whenever somebody disrespects our family or crosses that line, I think it’s a big problem. … If he feels better like that, he has to do what he has to do.
“Obviously, we have these obligations (with the media). If he doesn’t come here, he’s also at a loss in a way because he’s going to lose an opportunity to share his side of the story. He is sacrificing something, as well, in order to have his family’s safety.”
Making matters even more interesting is the fact Garry (13-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) trained with Luque (22-9-1 MMA, 15-5 UFC) at Kill Cliff MMA in South Florida until recently, when he left – and soon after booked the fight against the Brazilian. Then Garry had a well-publicized visit with Leon Edwards’ gym in England that wasn’t highly regarded.
If that didn’t sit well with some observers – and it didn’t – then no one may have told Luque, who said he by and large had no issues with Garry, save for a comment he made on a Luque post that Luque apparently thought mocked his Christianity.
But Luque said their time on the mats largely was a positive one.
“We trained a lot at Kill Cliff, and it was always good,” Luque told MMA Junkie. “He’s a very fun guy to be around and we always had a good relationship in the gym. There wasn’t much more outside the gym. We didn’t really hang out that much. But we did have a great time in the gym. We did train a lot together. I always looked at him as a guy with a lot of talent that I wanted to pick up some things on, and I think we exchanged some things like that – kind of inputs into each other’s game.
“… He’s a really young, talented guy – undefeated for a reason. He’s vey skilled. I watched a lot of tape trying to find openings. … I have some knowledge of what he does. He has some knowledge of what I do, as well. But a fight is a fight – it’s different (than training). I studied a lot, I worked a lot on what I can do against him – some openings – and at the same time, worked on what I’ve always done good and my strengths.”
Despite that, Garry is a heavy betting favorite in the -350 range. That line has come down after hitting 4-1 for the unbeaten Irishman at some sports books. Luque thinks come Saturday, he’ll have some things to show Garry about cage time and levels.
“I have the experience to take him to places maybe he hasn’t been before, and then we’ll see how he’s going to react.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 296.
