Belal Muhammad defeated Vicente Luque in the main event of UFC Vegas 51, holding his own on the feet and dominating in the grappling game to exact revenge on an old adversary and earn a top-5 status in the UFC welterweight rankings.
This was a rematch from their first fight at UFC 205 in November 2016, when Luque knocked Muhammad out in the first round.
Following his victory over Vicente Luque at UFC Vegas 51, Belal Muhammad is now a strong contender.
In the first round, both men got their fair share of blows, with both men landing kicks. Muhammad, on the other hand, appeared to have a better start, thanks in part to a hard takedown and some ground-and-pound.
In the second round, Luque tried to put more pressure on Muhammad, but he was answering back — and landing the better strokes in terms of quantity and quality.
Muhammad also managed a takedown and got on Luque’s back, but there was no genuine threat of a submit.
Luque rocked Muhammad early in the third with a fast left hook, and the tide began to turn. He countered with a couple of left punches and was able to avoid Muhammad’s takedown attempt.
Luque continued to pound Muhammad, and this time Luque had the upper hand in their dealing. While Muhammad did land another takedown, Luque wowed by going back to his feet and putting pressure on Muhammad once again.
To begin the fourth round, Luque attempted to maintain his offensive momentum with more punches, but Muhammad landed a takedown and went into both arm-triangle and side control before slipping off while attempting to go to Luque’s back.
This round could have gone any way, with Luque performing better on the feet but having no answer to Muhammad’s grappling once again.
Early in the fifth, Muhammad attempted a couple of takedowns, but one was stuffed, and the other Luque responded by attempting for a choke he couldn’t get. Muhammad, on the other hand, rose to his feet. And as he took Luque across the cage and got a takedown, it seemed like the fight was finished, as he regained control of the momentum.
Muhammad received four rounds from all three judges, with two totals of 49-46 and one total of 49-47.
