It looks like a welterweight scrap between Vicente Luque and Michael Chiesa is set for later this summer.
Chris Prawdzik of Cageside Press initially reported the matchup. This was later confirmed by Marcel Dorff. The bout is said to be taking place on August 7. It’ll be part of the UFC 265 card. UFC 265 is expected to feature a women’s bantamweight title bout between champion Amanda Nunes and Julianna Pena.
Both Luque and Chiesa are neck and neck in the official UFC welterweight rankings. Luque holds the number five position, while Chiesa sits at number six.
Luque is coming off the biggest victory of his pro MMA career. He defeated former UFC Welterweight Champion Tyron Woodley via first-round submission back in March. The win earned Luque his fourth “Fight of the Night” bonus. It also extended his winning streak to three. In his streak, Luque has defeated Woodley, Randy Brown, and Niko Price.
Chiesa has also been on a roll. He’s fresh off a unanimous decision win over Neil Magny back in January. “The Maverick” is riding a four-fight winning streak. He hasn’t suffered a loss since July 2018. In his current stretch, Chiesa has beaten Magny, former UFC Lightweight Champion Rafael dos Anjos, Diego Sanchez, and Carlos Condit.
Luque has gone 9-1 in his last ten outings. The lone defeat in that timespan was against Stephen Thompson. When it comes to his record under the UFC banner, Luque is 13-3. He has turned things around significantly in his career, as at one point Luque had a record of 7-5-1. He now sits at 20-7-1.
Chiesa is hoping to snag a victory over Luque to keep his momentum going. If he can do so, then one has to figure that “The Maverick” will be in a good spot. It also helps that UFC Welterweight Champion Kamaru Usman has called his name for a potential title clash down the line.