UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski has shared his thoughts on the upcoming rematch between Vicente Luque and Belal Muhammad.
The first fight between Luque and Muhammad was scheduled to be a three-round welterweight bout. It took place at UFC 205 in November 2016 and saw Luque defeat Muhammad via first-round KO.
The 170-pound mainstays are now primed to clash inside the octagon yet again, but this time, in a five-round welterweight bout.
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In an edition of MMA Pros Pick with James Lynch, Volkanovski expressed his appreciation for both Luque and Muhammad ahead of their welterweight rematch this month. However, he picked Luque to emerge victorious against Muhammad.
Volkanovski stated:
“Luque is good, man. He’s a dangerous fighter. Belal, he’s obviously tough in that as well. So, that’ll be a good matchup. But I think I’m gonna have to go with Luque.”
Luque’s most recent fight was a first-round submission win over Michael Chiesa at UFC 265 in August 2021. Meanwhile, Muhammad’s latest fight was a unanimous decision win over Stephen Thompson at UFC Fight Night: Lewis vs. Daukaus in December 2021.
Watch Alexander Volkanovski weigh in on the Luque-Muhammad rematch in the video below:
Belal Muhammad promises a different result in his rematch against Vicente Luque
The No. 4-ranked UFC welterweight Vicente Luque will face the No. 5-ranked Belal Muhammad in a five-round 170-pound matchup.
The rematch will headline the UFC Fight Night: Luque vs. Muhammad 2 event on April 16th. The consensus is that the victor of this fight could find himself in the UFC welterweight title picture later this year.
Muhammad recently took to Twitter to address his pivotal rematch against Luque. The welterweight contender indicated that he has his sights set on the UFC welterweight title that’s currently held by the UFC’s No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter Kamaru Usman.
Muhammad also promised a different result in his rematch against Luque and vowed to capture the UFC welterweight title by the end of this year. He posted:
“10-1 since the last fight.. i earned the rematch doubt me all you want this fight isn’t personal for me it’s not about revenge I’m a different fighter he’s a different fighter this is a new fight there will be a new result and by the end of the year I’ll be the new champ”