Derrick “D-Rock” Krantz is stepping in on less than one week’s notice to fight Vicente “The Silent Assassin” Luque at UFC Rochester but is still confident that he’ll prove victorious this Saturday. Krantz is replacing the 13th-ranked Neil Magny who was pulled from the card on Monday for a USADA violation.
Making his Ultimate Fighting Championship debut, the 24-10 welterweight is not surprised by the haphazard manner in which he’ll be introduced to the Octagon. “This is pretty much how I saw myself getting into the UFC, just taking some crazy, short-notice fight, and showing all these welterweights what’s up,” Krantz told The Score’s James Lynch.
Though the 31-year-old Krantz has been a professional mixed martial artist for some time, he admits not being familiar with his last-minute opponent. “Yeah, I didn’t know about him,” revealed Krantz. However, “D-Rock” and his team caught up quickly, watching two of Luque’s fights and breaking down the Brazilian’s style.
“D-Rock” was surprised to learn that he and Luque shared many similarities. “He comes forward. He tries to hit hard. Not a lot of head movement. He’ll take a punch. He’s got good submissions. Looks like good wrestling. He looks a lot like me, just not as good,” declared Krantz.
With that in mind, Krantz feels he holds the formula for victory: “experience,” “pressure fighting,” and “grappling.” And with those tools in hand, Krantz is confident that he’ll score a splashy win over Luque. Specifically, Krantz is eyeing the second round. “I’ll just tell you it’s gonna be a finish, and I’m gonna finish him within the two rounds.”