This past Saturday at UFC 265, we saw a pivotal matchup in the welterweight division. Top six welterweights went head-to-head as Vicente Luque (21-7-1) took on Michael Chiesa (17-5).
Chiesa was unbeaten in the UFC‘s welterweight division heading into Saturday night. Luque on the other hand has been one of the top welterweights in the division over the last few years who has just stumbled twice since his promotional debut.
Vicente Luque looks like he can become a UFC champion. He has tremendous striking, a fun style, and he’s very slick on the ground. However, his ground skills are rarely talked about considering how good he is on the feet. Well, at UFC 265 we saw how good his grappling was.
In the first round, Michael Chiesa landed a big takedown. Once he got on top of Luque, he was able to get to his back. Chiesa tried to lock in a choke and for a moment, it appeared that Chiesa was going to get the win at UFC 265.
However, Luque powered through and ended up on top. Both men started a scramble and Chiesa left his neck exposed. Luque locked in a d’arce choke and shocked everyone by submitting the ground specialist in the first round.
What’s next after UFC 265?
This was another huge win for Luque who has won four fights in a row. In his last 16 UFC fights, Luque holds an astonishing record of 14-2. The only two losses he’s had have come against Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson and Leon Edwards (19-3).
In thinking about what comes next following UFC 265, there’s one fight that stands out for me. That’s a fight with Leon Edwards. In reality, Edwards has done enough to earn himself a UFC title shot.
That said, if he wants to fight for the title next, he’s going to be waiting a while. Kamaru Usman and Colby Covington are fighting in November for the title. If Edwards wants a UFC title shot, he’s likely not going to get it until spring of 2022.
With how inactive Edwards has been, he needs another fight. Luque is currently ranked fourth in the welterweight division and a fight between the two men would give the division a clear number one contender after Covington. Neither has fought for the title either so it would make a ton of sense.
These two did fight back in 2017 with Edwards picking up the decision win. This is a great matchup and I think the UFC would be wise to try and book this one.