Today in the main event of UFC Vegas 41, we saw a middleweight battle between former title challengers Marvin Vettori (17-5-1) and Paulo Costa (13-1). While the fight featured two top middleweights, the fight took place at light heavyweight.
Paulo Costa said earlier this week that he wouldn’t make weight for the signed bout at 185 pounds. With that, the two men agreed to fight in the light heavyweight division. Granted, this was still looked at as a battle between two top middleweights.
The fight was sensational at UFC Vegas 41 and it was a battle of styles. For Marvin Vettori, he came forward with a lot of pressure and volume. Meanwhile Paulo Costa came forward with his massive power.
Early on in the fight, Vettori was landing a lot, but the big shots came from Costa. Most notably, a massive headkick in the second round that seemed to wobble Vettori briefly. In the second round, a pivotal moment occurred when Costa lost a point with an eye poke.
The middle rounds at UFC Vegas 41 were controlled by Vettori who won the third and fourth rounds with his volume. In the fifth round, Costa came alive and really started throwing heat. Tons of huge body kicks and huge shots up top came from the Brazilian.
The fifth round and the second looked like clear rounds for Paulo Costa. Meanwhile the middle rounds looked good for The Italian Dream. In the end as the judges scored the fight (48-46, 48-46, 48-46) for Vettori.
UFC Vegas 41 Final Takeaways
The fight was incredible between these two men and it was exactly the fight that UFC fans were hoping to see. However, there are still some sour points from the week that dampen the fight for me a bit.
It’s clear that Paulo Costa should be fighting at light heavyweight. If he can’t even come within ten pounds of the middleweight limit after a year off, the UFC should move up him to light heavyweight. Honestly, he looks great physically there.
While there were bright spots for Costa and he looked much better than he did against Adesanya, tonight was all about Vettori. Vettori ate some huge shots but never stopped coming forward. His performance really summed up the entire week for him.
It’s hard not to love Marvin Vettori after this week. Not only did he pick up the win at UFC Vegas 41, but he had the attitude of just wanting to fight all week. He really showed that he was a real fighter and this week was a big week for the Marvin Vettori fan base.