Vicente Luque is open to the prospect of being the official backup for the Kamaru Usman vs. Colby Covington rematch.
Usman is expected to defend his welterweight title against Covington in the headliner of the upcoming UFC 268 event taking place November 6 with New York’s Madison Square Garden touted as the venue.
And although nothing is official, Luque plans on staying ready in case either individual were to pull out from the fight.
“I think (being a backup) would be something interesting,” Luque told TMZ (via BJ Penn). “Even if I’m not officially a backup, I do plan to stay ready and possibly — I hope nothing happens — but if something happens, I hope I can step in there and save the day. So we’ll see.”
Luque is coming off an impressive first-round submission win over fellow contender Michael Chiesa at UFC 265 last week. That made it four wins in a row for the Brazilian who has also won 10 of his last 11 outings overall.
While most would agree that Leon Edwards is the next contender in line, Luque is certainly in title contention now and would appear to be the more willing fighter to be the official backup.
The worst case scenario for Luque is fighting someone else like Edwards or even Jorge Masvidal to fully cement himself as the next contender in line after UFC 268 takes place.
Do you think Luque is deserving of a title shot?