Tomorrow night on the main card of UFC 265, we will see a pivotal matchup in the welterweight division. The fifth and sixth ranked welterweights go head-to-head as Michael Chiesa (18-4) takes on Vicente Luque (20-7-1).
Luque will be looking to pick up his fourth consecutive win tomorrow night at UFC 265. Luque has been fighting with the promotion since 2015 and he’s consistently been one of the best. After losing his UFC debut, he’s gone 13-2.
Those two losses came against Leon Edwards and Stephen Thompson. Luque has consistently gone on winning streaks, but he seems to falter when he reaches the very top of the division. At UFC 265, he’s looking to change that narrative.
Standing across from Luque is Michael Chiesa. Chiesa has completely changed his career after moving to the welterweight division. For years, Chiesa struggled to get down to lightweight. Eventually, he decided to move up to his natural weight class of 170 pounds.
Since making that move, Chiesa has been sensational. He’s gone 4-0 in the UFC‘s welterweight division. Back in January he had a dominant five-round victory over Neil Magny to setup this fight with Vicente Luque. Chiesa is hoping a win vaults him into the title picture.
UFC 265 Prediction
When thinking about this matchup at UFC 265, it’s pretty easy to see the path to victory for both men. For Michael Chiesa, it’s all going to be about the takedown and his control.
There really isn’t a secret to his game plan at UFC 265. Chiesa is going to look to close the distance and get Luque to the ground to avoid standing with him. Luque on the other hand wants this to be a striking matchup.
If these two strike for three rounds, Vicente Luque is going to walk away the winner. However, if Chiesa can get Luque to the ground or make him tired by utilizing a ton of grappling, he can easily win this fight.
I wouldn’t be surprised by either man winning tomorrow night, but I’m going to go with Vicente Luque. Expect Luque to keep this fight standing enough over three rounds to win at least two rounds and get the nod on the scorecards.
Prediction: Vicente Luque by Unanimous Decision