Belal Muhammad had to wait nearly five and a half years to get his revenge but he delivered a dominant performance in his rematch with Vicente Luque in the UFC Vegas 51 main event.
It was an excellent strategy that Muhammad used round after round. He utilized fast footwork and much better striking to keep Luque guessing every step of the way. Muhammad was better than ever after defeating Luque via knockout in 79 only 2016. seconds.
This time around it was Muhammad who put on a statement performance with the judges scoring the fight 49-46, 49-46 and 48-47 in his favor.
“This was my hump I had to get over,” Muhammad said afterwards. “He knocked me out. What do you have to say about that? I won. I knew it was going to be one of my hardest challenges.
” I knew Luque was both the best and worst of all worlds, [with striking and grappling] so when he beat me to death, I felt like he could take that advantage. It showed that I can do it all. I’m able to wrestle with the greatest. I can strike with the best. I can grapple with the best.”
It was a complete showing from Muhammad as he set the tone from the first exchange of the fight while circling away from an aggressive Luque, who was in constant pursuit of him across the cage. Luque kept trying to set up his punches but Muhammad just never allowed him to settle on his feet and then he began mixing in takedowns to further frustrate the veteran welterweight contender.
A quick combination of left and right that repeatedly hit Luque’s chin, Muhammad found a place for it on his feet. Muhammad’s punches were precise and straight, but Luque continued his plodding ahead.
Even when Luque managed to connect with some nasty calf kicks, Muhammad was quick to change levels and snatch another takedown.
Down after two rounds, Luque’s coaches told him to be more urgent. This led him to unleash a vicious straight left down his pipe, that blast Muhammad and placed him on wobbly feet. Luque was eying the opportunity and popped Muhammad with a stiff left hand, as he began to apply the punishment.
Once again, Muhammad turned to his wrestling to slow Luque down and he brought the fight to the canvas as he began working from inside the guard. Luque became less able to use combinations because of constant threats of being taken down. This allowed Muhammad to avoid power shots, and to throw lots of punches in his favor.
Luque’s forward pressure continued but he just couldn’t get into a rhythm with his striking as Muhammad kept him off balance with good counters before once again relying on his wrestling. The takedowns never gave Luque any room to breathe and when the horn sounded, Muhammad threw his hands up in celebration after a job well done.
Muhammad now has an unbeaten streak of eight consecutive fights. He called his chance against the top-ranked welterweight that he had been fighting for many years.
“I’m going to stop calling for the champ cause nobody wants to give me that shot,” Muhammad said. Let me have the big mouth Karen. Colby Covington is out calling out [155 pounders]. Come fight a real ’70-pounder, you coward.
“I’m a real ’70 pounder. I’m winning fights. I’m not [Jorge] Masvidal off two losses. I’m not [Tyron] Woodley off five losses. I am ‘Bully B” with seven victories. You can take on a challenge coward .”
It remains to be seen if Muhammad will get his wish but any questions about his validity in the hierarchy of the welterweight division were emphatically answered with his win over Luque at UFC Vegas 51.
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