Vicente Luque recently revealed that last weekend's barnburner between Gilbert Burns and Khamzat Chimaev has given him extra motivation ahead of his fight against Belal Muhammad.
'Borz' and 'Durinho' engaged in an all-time classic at UFC 273. It was a back-and-forth contest with both fighters managing to significantly hurt each other. Chimaev got his hand raised after the scheduled three rounds.
In a recent interview with TMZ Sports, 'The Silent Assassin' had this to say about the UFC 273 fight:
"For sure. I mean, who doesn't get excited with a fight like that? I think anybody would. It's my style already. I'm always looking to put on good fights. To excite the fans and now coming off with that great fight we had last weekend, it's just more pressure and more motivation. I'm gonna go out there and throw everything I can and pull out."
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Watch Vicente Luque talk about Burns vs. Chimaev:
Chimaev edged Burns with a decision in his favor. The Chechen-born fighter jumped eight places in the rankings to the No.3 spot with his win. He is expected to fight Colby Covington in his next UFC appearance.
Vicente Luque vs. Belal Muhammad 2 is set for this weekend
Luque will take on Muhammad in the main event of UFC Fight Night: Luque vs. Muhammad this weekend. The duo first fought at UFC 205 in 2016, where 'The Silent Assassin' managed to score a first-round knockout finish.
However, Muhammad has been in superb form recently. The 33-year-old is coming off a dominant win against Stephen 'Wonderboy' Thompson in his last fight. The No.6-ranked welterweight will look to level the scores against Luque when the octagon door closes this weekend.
Meanwhile, Luque is on a four-fight win streak, having finished every opponent in that run. The 30-year-old is coming off a first-round submission win against Michael Chiesa in his last UFC fight. It will be interesting to see if the No.5-ranked welterweight can make it five wins in a row.
Both fighters are in the upper echelons of the welterweight division at the moment. Who eventually gets the win and potentially secures a title shot for himself remains to be seen.