Luke Trainer is ready to remind people who he is after a lengthy layoff, and hopes to parlay that into a championship opportunity.
Trainer returns to action for the first time since September 2024 to face former PFL season champion Rob Wilkinson this Saturday at PFL Dubai. Trainer enters the bout a winner of four straight, and eight of nine, as he makes his first appearance in the PFL SmartCage after a seven-fight run with Bellator.
“The Gent” was hoping to face a different opponent, but he’s thrilled to face a dangerous and seasoned fighter like Wilkinson.
“I was buzzing,” Trainer told MMA Fighting. “I’ll be honest, it’s not who I asked for, I asked for the Russian cat who lost to Corey Anderson recently, I thought that would be, beat him and that would make the most sense for the title. But Rob Wilkinson was who they gave me, and he’s a former champion, he’s a serious competitor, he’s a serious fighter, he knocks people out, he puts people out. So I was buzzing regardless.
“I think this is an even better match up for me, if I’m honest. But I’m ready. I’m ready for a war, I’m ready to smoke him in the first round, I’m ready for it to be a dogfight decision, whatever it is. I feel great, it’s the best I’ve ever felt, and, and I don’t even mean that in a corny, generic way. I genuinely feel like this is the best I’ve ever been, and I am absolutely buzzing for this match up, man.”
The current PFL light heavyweight champ is Corey Anderson, who captured the inaugural title with a lopsided decision win against Dovlet Yagshimuradov this past October.
Trainer hopes he’ll stand across from Anderson later this year after returning from injury, but knows he has a tall task in front of him, which is why he has taken his training camp as serious as possible.
“I’ve been fully focused these last [several] weeks I’ve been in camp,” Trainer explained. “I decided to take 14 weeks to… in my head, I need 14 weeks to correctly prepare for this, without even knowing who it was, I knew it was going to be someone at the top. So I was preparing as if it was going to be a championship fight, and, yeah, that’s what I mean, I’m 100 percent ready.
“I’ve been slaving away in the gym, I’ve been upgrading my skill sets. My cardio’s insane, my athleticism is insane right now. But more importantly, my skill set is different. I’ve got tools now where I didn’t have before. I’m doing things in sparring that I never did before, and yeah, I’m looking forward to putting on a show. I’m looking forward to taking him out and claiming my shot next. I deserve to be next.
“I think the tournament showed that we need someone at the top, we need someone to challenge for the belt, we need someone new. Sullivan Cauley was the newest person to [get to the finals and challenge for the belt], and he lost to ‘Shoeface.’ I choked him out faster than Shoeface did, so, that’s not me being disrespectful, all respect to Sully, even though I don’t think he likes me very much, all respect to him. But I take out Rob Wilkinson, I’ll do my job, and then I deserve the next shot, whoever that is. So that’s what I’m looking forward to.”
Trainer was able to use his time off wisely as he and his father have been working with kids in foster care to help provide better lives. That is a passion of his, and has been for years, and believes that his work can provide those children in need with the confidence that they can accomplish anything — which is why becoming a PFL world champion would be so important.
Ironically, Trainer, who has the gift of gab, says that inner-belief in himself is something he continues to struggle with. However, he’s decided to build himself up in other ways, which he aims to show to the world when he faces Wilkinson, who looks to snap a two-fight skid.
“I struggle with self-confidence a lot, so take out self-confidence with self-discipline” Trainer said. “I know I’ve done the work, and I’ve been able to show myself that I am good enough through the work that I’ve done. I haven’t missed a session, I haven’t cheated on my meals, I haven’t cheated on my sleep, on my recovery, on my visualization, on my affirmations, or my prayer. I’ve done everything I need to do. …
“So I could go tomorrow, and in my head, I could absolutely smoke Rob Wilkinson in the first round. I’m hoping he comes with the exact same mentality. I’m hoping this is the best Rob Wilkinson I’ve ever [seen]. I’ve worked my arse off for this and do you know what? If I get knocked out in the first round, I know there’s nothing I could have done better than what I’ve done right now. I’ve done everything my coaches have asked for and then some. I’ve done everything I’ve asked for and then some So if Rob’s the better man on the night, then so be it. It’s out of my hands, you know what I mean?
“All I can do is go out there and fight my heart out. So yeah, I’m buzzing, man. It’s the best sport in the world, brother. There’s no feeling like it. Just talking about it gets me super hyped, so yeah, I’m ready.”
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