UFC picks Marvin Vettori vs. Paulo Costa to headline October 23 event

A middleweight bout between high-ranked contenders is headed to the UFC FIght Night 196 card. Per MMA Junkie, former title challengers Marvin Vettori and…

By: Lucas Rezende | 2 years ago
UFC picks Marvin Vettori vs. Paulo Costa to headline October 23 event
Bloody Elbow 2.0 | Anton Tabuena

A middleweight bout between high-ranked contenders is headed to the UFC FIght Night 196 card. Per MMA Junkie, former title challengers Marvin Vettori and Paulo Costa have agreed to headline the card in both men’s first fight following their unsuccessful shots at the belt.

In his last outing, Vettori (17-5-1) dropped a unanimous decision to Israel Adesanya, back in June. Before that, the 27-year-old was on a five-fight winning streak, which included victories over Cezar Ferreira, Andrew Sanchez, Karl Roberson, Jack Hermansson and Kevin Holland. The most recent one, over ‘Trail Blazer’, back in April.

Away from the Octagon ever since a TKO defeat to Adesanya in September 2020, Costa (13-1) was linked to bouts against Robert Whittaker and Jared Cannonier, but both fell through. Before his defeat to Israel, Paulo was on a five-fight winning streak in the UFC, with victories over Garreth McLellan, Oluwale Bamgbose, Johny Hendricks, Uriah Hall and Yoel Romero.

Now, Vettori is expected to take on Costa at UFC Fight Night 196’s main event, on October 23. The card is scheduled to be held in Las Vegas, Nevada, but a venue is yet to be announced by the promotion.

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Lucas Rezende
Lucas Rezende

Lucas Rezende is a Brazilian journalist and writer from Belem, Para. He has been covering MMA since 2012 and contributing with Bloody Elbow since March 2015. When not writing, Lucas also teaches English. In his free time, he enjoys reading, slapping the bass guitar and traveling.

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