Santiago Luna explains benefit of training with Marlon ‘Chito’ Vera and Arman Tsarukyan
UFC newcomer Santiago Luna has spoken about the benefit of training with the likes of Marlon ‘Chito’ Vera and Arman Tsarukyan as he prepares for his sophomore appearance with the promotion.
In September of last year, Santiago Luna announced himself to the mixed martial arts world with a nice finish over Quang Le. The 21-year-old immediately made headlines as a result of just how impressive he looked in the fight, and now, he’s preparing for his next challenge in the form of a showdown with Angel Pacheco later this month.
The great thing for Santiago Luna is that he’s young, he’s hungry, and he has a wealth of knowledge to learn from, thanks to who he has been training with. In a recent interview with MMA Junkie, he had the following to say about his progress thus far.
Santiago Luna talks the benefits of training with stars
“Of course, I’m getting better at the time that I’m sparring these great guys,” Luna told MMA Junkie Radio. “These high-level, top-rank guys, and even then that I know I have much more to go, much more to reach, and the level to get, I do believe – and I truly do – that I’m around that top 15, top 10 level.
“My daily sparring is ‘Chito’ Vera, he’s still in the top 10 in the bantamweight, in my own division, and (we have) great sparrings and everything. So, that truly gives me a vision of where I’m at. And not even him, I’ve been grappling with Arman Tsarukyan, so just on the grappling game, I see my elite level that I have, but I’m planning to show it to a lot of people this Feb. 28 so they can actually know the complete fighter that I am.”
“On the side of ‘Chito,’ I would say obviously the striking, and the precision of doing an exact move,” Luna said. “For me, I consider myself before, I was just rushing in to finish fights, or saw the opportunity and just rush for it. Now, with the help of coach Jason (Parillo) and ‘Chito,’ just to see more of the things that are coming my way and the things that I can use in my advantage, just like him throwing a jab or him throwing a straight, or a combination of me using everything to finis hthe fight really easy and not stress about it.
“… With Arman, it’s just the control on the ground. I think his control on the ground is elite. Obviously, from him and his team I’ve learned a lot of little details that I didn’t have. Being in the high-level grappling that I saw from them, now, putting in the last sparrings that I’ve been doing in the last weeks, it’s just amazing.”
Quotes via MMA Junkie
