UFC 265: MIchael Chiesa vs. Vicente Luque Picks and Predictions

Michael Chiesa and Vicente Luque face off on Saturday in a welterweight showdown in the main card of UFC 265 at the Toyota Center in Houston. 

Michael “Maverick” Chiesa comes into this fight with an 18-4 record overall and he has been fighting really well as of late winning four in a row. Chiesa’s last fight came against Neil Magney, and it was the takedowns that were the difference. Chiesa finished with four takedowns, and that led to the unanimous decision victory. Each of the last three wins for Chiesa has come by unanimous decision. Chiesa is averaging 1.89 significant strikes per minute while absorbing 1.71 significant strikes per minute. Chiesa likes to get the fight to the ground and is averaging 3.60 takedowns every 15 minutes. Chiesa is successful on 52 percent of his takedowns and he stops 58 percent of his takedown attempts. 

On the other side of this matchup is Vicente Luque who comes into this fight with a 20-7-1 record overall and he has won three fights in a row. Luque’s last fight came against Tyron Woodley in March of 2021, and he won that fight by submission Each of the last three wins by Luque has not made it to the final bell. Luque comes into this fight averaging 5.74 significant strikes per minute while absorbing 5.78 significant strikes per minute. Luque is averaging 0.66 takedowns every 15 minutes, and he is successful on 50 percent of his takedown attempts. Luque only tries 0.9 submission attempts every 15 minutes, but he does