A welterweight rematch between No. 5 ranked Vicente Luque and No. 6 ranked Belal Muhammad headlined Saturday’s UFC Vegas 51 fight card at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
The two first fought at UFC 205 back in November 2016 with Luque stopping Muhammad in 79 seconds. On Saturday, Muhammad avenged the previous loss by defeating Luque by unanimous decision.
Luque pressured Muhammad in the early going and delivered leg kicks. Muhammad moved laterally along the outside and targeted Luque’s body with kicks. Midway through the frame, Muhammad changed levels and took Luque down. Luque worked his way back to his feet in the closing seconds.
Luque continued to pressure Muhammad in the second stanza. He connected with leg kicks, but Muhammad’s punches began to find a home. With two minutes remaining in the frame, Muhammad secured a takedown. Luque got back to his feet without taking damage.
Between rounds, Luque’s corner told him that he needed to win the round. He came out and hurt Muhammad with a left hand early in the round. Muhammad tied Luque up, but Luque freed himself from the clinch and went back to landing punches.
Like in the first two frames, midway through the round Muhammad took Luque down. Luque quickly scrambled back to his feet. The round ended with Luque leaping in with a flying knee and Muhammad blocking it.
Muhammad secured a takedown earlier in the round during the fourth frame. He peppered Luque with short punches to the body and head from inside Luque’s guard. With two minutes remaining in the round, Luque scrambled back to his feet.
Luque stuffed a takedown attempt early in the final round. Muhammad was unsuccessful in a second takedown attempt. He looked to get the fight to the ground a third time and Luque shook it off. Undeterred, Muhammad secured a takedown on his fourth attempt. Late in the round Luque got to his feet but was met with a combination.
After 25 minutes of fighting, the judges scored the fight for Muhammad by unanimous decision. The scorecards read 49-46, 49-46, and 48-47.
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“This was my hump I had to get over. He knocked me out. He beat me. I had to think about that my whole camp. All the trolls on Twitter posting that, what do you have to say now? I won,” Muhammad said following the win.
When asked who he wanted to face next, Muhammad didn’t call for a title fight. He called out top contender Colby Covington.
“I’m going to stop calling for the champ because nobody wants to give me that shot, so let me get the big mouth Karen. Colby Covington was out here calling out 55ers. Come fight real 170 pounder you coward,” Muhammad said.
“I’m a really 170 pounder. I’m winning fights. I’m not [Jorge] Masvidal after two losses. I’m not [Tyron] Woodley off of five losses. I’m Bully B off of seven wins. Come and fight a real challenge coward.”
UFC Vegas 51 Results: Belal Muhammad decisions Vicente Luque and calls out Colby Covington
