This past weekend at UFC Vegas 16, Jack Hermansson (21-6) took on Marvin Vettori (16-4-1) in the main event. Vettori was the third scheduled opponent for Hermansson for the headlining fight.
Originally, Hermansson was set to take on Darren Till. Then he was supposed to face Kevin Holland. However, both of those fights fell through which is how Marvin Vettori got the main event shot against The Joker.
I really thought that Hermansson’s grappling was going to be the difference at UFC Vegas 16. However, I was wrong and underestimated the defensive skills of Marvin Vettori. Hermansson was never able to get Vettori to the ground for any significant portion of time.
The fight remained on the feet for the majority of the time. While Hermansson had moments here and there, the standup was clearly controlled by Marvin Vettori. Vettori even dropped and almost finished Hermansson in the first round.
In the end, the judges gave four of the five rounds to Marvin Vettori. Hermansson suffered his second loss in his last three fights at UFC Vegas 16. With that in mind, what’s next for The Joker after his loss on Saturday night.
What’s next after UFC Vegas 16?
When you take a look at the UFC‘s middleweight rankings, there are a few options for Hermansson. One of the clearest options is taking on the winner of the rematch between Chris Weidman and Uriah Hall.
Those two men are scheduled to fight in February. Weidman and Hall are on the backside of the top ten in the UFC‘s middleweight division. A win for either man would vault them closer to the top five where a guy like Hermansson could be waiting.
Another option for Hermansson could be Darren Till. As mentioned above, Till was originally set to be Hermansson’s opponent before a knee injury derailed the fight. Both men are coming off losses so a fight between the two could make sense.