Michael Chiesa takes on Vicente Luque on the main card of UFC 265. Ahead of what promises to be an exciting fight, Chiesa will look to get a statement win over a very dangerous Vicente Luque to cement his contention for the welterweight title.
Ahead of arguably the most important fight of his MMA career, Michael Chiesa sat down with the Submission Radio and shared his thoughts on who gets the title opportunity against the winner of Kamaru Usman vs Colby Covington 2.
“I think whoever wins this fight should want to fight for the title. They booked Colby and Usman, I don’t know, if Colby gets past Usman, I wouldn’t be surprised if they do a trilogy. I know how much they love that first fight.”
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“But I just think if Usman gets past Colby, it’s gotta be me, it’s gotta be whoever wins that fight, that goes on next.”
“I think Leon is the most deserving at the title fight, I think it should be him fighting Kamaru at Madison Square Garden, I don’t know if they are gonna do Burns and Leon, I don’t know what’s gonna happen there.”
Michael Chiesa believes that it is quite possible that the winner of his fight with Luque at UFC 265 could potentially land the title opportunity next. However, a case can be made that both Chiesa and Luque will need to add bigger names in their resume to get a title shot.
Can Michael Chiesa beat Vicente Luque?
Michael Chiesa certainly has the grappling advantage against Vicente Luque, however, Luque looks like a more all-around fighter compared to Chiesa. Luque’s takedown defense and his proficient striking make him a more dangerous fighter than Chiesa. Be that as it may, considering it’s a three-round fight, and looking at Luque’s recent performance against Neil Magny, it does like look Michae Chiesa might get his hand raised this weekend.
Additionally, Chiesa has never been knocked out and has not taken much damage throughout the course of his mixed martial arts career. While Luque’s power is nothing to overlook, Chiesa will look to try to control the pace of the fight, and keep the fight on the ground to neutralize Luque’s striking.
As for title contention, Stephen Thompson holds wins over the top opponents that both Luque and Chiesa have beaten, and it is unlikely that the winner of this fight gets the shot, considering Leon Edwards just waiting to get his shot at the welterweight strap.