Michael Chiesa claims he always knew he would fight Vicente Luque despite talks of a bout with Kamaru Usman
Michael Chiesa has admitted that his upcoming fight against Vicente Luque is the one that makes sense for him at the moment. Despite talks of a fight against Kamaru Usman, 'Maverick' is focused on his next fight at UFC 265.
During his interview with MMA Fighting, Michael Chiesa said that regardless of talk of a fight between him and the current UFC welterweight champion, he knew that his next opponent would be Luque. However, 'Maverick' started to run along with the idea of a potential fight with 'The Nigerian Nightmare'.
Michael Chiesa also added that he certainly isn't unhappy with the matchup against Luque and knows that the Brazilian will be the most dangerous guy he's ever fought.
"It's the fight that makes sense. I mean, to be completely honest with you, Mike, you know, I know there was all these kind of swirling talks about me and Kamaru and this and that. Look, I knew it was Vicente a long time ago, I just didn't say anything about it. You know when the champ starts saying your name, you kind of run with it for a while. I've known it's going to be Vicente for a long time and I'm not unhappy with the match at all.
"Is he tough? Yeah, absolutely and I'm not just saying this because I'm not just trying to build up my opponent but it's like, this is the most dangerous guy I've ever fought. You look at his record, you look at what he's done in the octagon, nobody would disagree with me."
Michael Chiesa will return to the octagon at UFC 265
On August 7, Michael Chiesa will step back into the octagon for the first time since his win over Neil Magny in January earlier this year.
'Maverick' is currently unbeaten in four fights and will aim to extend his winning run to five with a huge victory over Vicente Luque.
Meanwhile, 'The Silent Assassin' is on a three-fight winning streak, and having beaten Tyron Woodley in his final UFC fight, Luque will aim to get one step closer to a potential title shot with a victory over Chiesa.