Vicente Luque taking Belal Muhammad 'very seriously' despite knocking him out in their first meeting
Vicente Luque has emphasized that he’s taking Belal Muhammad very seriously despite having knocked him out in their first fight. The duo previously clashed in a welterweight bout at UFC 205 in November 2016, which Luque won via first-round knockout.
Ahead of their upcoming rematch, Luque spoke to Full Mount MMA regarding Muhammad and a few other topics as well. When asked whether he thinks 'Remember The Name' has significantly improved since their first fight, 'The Silent Assassin' responded by stating:
“Yeah, I mean Belal has definitely improved a lot. He has a great winning streak right now. He has developed his game a lot. I mean, it impressed me how he controlled [Stephen] Thompson in his last fight. So, that’s one of the fights that I’ve really been watching to kind of get – His timing, his movement, it has changed since we fought. And I think this is a new fight. I don’t take much of our first fight. I think that was a quick knockout, so there isn’t much I can take from it.”
Additionally, Luque opined that Muhammad’s going to enter their rematch with a good game plan. The Brazilian believes that 'Remeber The Name' will try to avoid striking with him and avoid letting him control the fight’s pace.
On that note, Luque suggested that Muhammad will try to control him and ensure that he (Luque) doesn’t fight like he usually does. 'The Silent Assassin', for his part, is known for his aggressive style of fighting and vaunted KO power. Luque added:
“And that’s what I’m getting ready for. I know he’s a tough opponent, and I gotta take him very seriously.”
Watch Vicente Luque’s interview with Full Mount MMA in the video below:
Vicente Luque on a potential fight against Colby Covington
The No. 4-ranked UFC welterweight Vicente Luque is scheduled to fight the No. 5-ranked Belal Muhammad in a five-round bout that’ll headline UFC Fight Night: Luque vs. Muhammad 2 on April 16th.
The consensus is that a win over Muhammad could lead Luque to a possible matchup against former interim UFC welterweight champion Colby 'Chaos' Covington.
Speaking to ESPN MMA, Vicente Luque indicated that beating the No. 1-ranked Colby Covington could earn him a UFC welterweight title shot. The 30-year-old noted that he doesn’t like Covington as a person but respects him as a fighter. Highlighting his intentions of securing a stoppage win over ‘Chaos,’ Luque said:
“He's a tough guy, he goes in there and really puts his heart in the fight so I think it would be an awesome fight. He would go in there and try to beat me [and] I'm going to go in there and try to finish him."
Watch the full interview below: