Last night at UFC Vegas 16, Marvin Vettori (16-4-1) took on Jack Hermansson (21-6) in the main event. Vettori was originally scheduled to fight next weekend, but after Kevin Holland fell out of the UFC Vegas 16 main event, Vettori stepped in.
Hermansson entered the cage as the fourth ranked middleweight in the UFC. For Vettori, he was competing in his first main event and it was the first time he was fighting someone when they were ranked inside the top five.
To be honest, I underestimated Marvin Vettori in this one. I figured he would have some moments on the feet, but over the course of five rounds, I figured Hermansson’s grappling and preparation for a five round main event would win out.
However, that is not what happened at UFC Vegas 16. Vettori looked incredibly sharp on the feet last night. He dropped Hermansson in round one and nearly finished the fight. In the second round, he continued to tune Hermansson up on the feet.
While he was doing this, he also did a fantastic job of defending takedowns. I got concerned for Vettori when the fight hit the third round. It seemed that Hermansson was taking over the fight and Vettori was fading.
However, it now appears that Vettori was just trying to take a round off. The fight was a war, but Vettori sealed the deal in the final two rounds of UFC Vegas 16 with piston like straight hands. In the end, Vettori walked away with the decision and the biggest win of his UFC career.
What’s next after UFC Vegas 16?
After the fight was over, Vettori stepped to the microphone for his post-fight interview. It wouldn’t be a Vettori interview if 90% wasn’t censored out. However, he still was able to say what he wanted next in the UFC.
Vettori took the opportunity to call out Paulo Costa (13-1) after UFC Vegas 16. To be honest, going into the fight, I figured Costa would be a good fight for whoever won. With Vettori’s performance and call out, I think it makes even more sense now.
We haven’t seen Costa since his failed attempt to capture the middleweight title at UFC 253. Israel Adesanya completely outclassed the Brazilian that night. Despite that performance, Costa is still one of the best in the world.
Stylistically, it makes for a fantastic matchup. Rankings wise, it will also make for a fantastic matchup. When the rankings come out on Tuesday, I would expect to see Vettori in the top five. A matchup with him and Costa would be pairing two exciting top five fighters against each other.