Belal Muhammad believes he'll be able to exact his revenge when he takes on Vicente Luque on April 16.
Both fighters are ready to announce themselves to the world as title contenders, with Muhammad in particular backing himself to make a statement. He tweeted:
"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"
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In one of the first events in the second quarter of 2022 for the UFC, Muhammad will lock horns with Luque in a fascinating welterweight collision. The two men previously fought more than five years ago at UFC 205.
That night, it was Luque who had his hand raised courtesy of a vicious knockout.
Ever since then, Muhammad has lost just once, to Geoff Neal. Meanwhile, the only defeats on Luque's record since TKO victory over 'Remember The Name' came at the hands of Leon Edwards and Stephen Thompson.
The form of Belal Muhammad and Vicente Luque
Ever since his loss to Stephen Thompson, Vicente Luque has been a man on a mission with four straight wins - all of which came via knockout. In that stretch he managed to beat the likes of Niko Price, Randy Brown, Tyron Woodley and, arguably most impressively, Michael Chiesa.
He had previously been going after matchups against the likes of Nate Diaz and Jorge Masvidal. Instead, he'll look to add to his highlight reel when he takes on Belal Muhammad in a rematch later this year.
Meanwhile, Muhammad has slowly but surely been going about his business in a thoroughly efficient way. A four-fight win streak was somewhat snapped due to a short notice no contest against Leon Edwards. He is coming off consecutive unanimous decision victories over Demian Maia and Stephen Thompson.
Kamaru Usman has cleaned out the division in the eyes of the masses but with both of these men serving as fresh matchups, it'll be interesting to see what happens with the victor.