UFC 318 didn’t go the way that a former title challenger hoped despite winning a bonus.
Earlier this year, Marvin Vettori was beaten by Roman Dolidze in his return to the Octagon following over a year and a half away from the Octagon.
‘The Italian Dream’ looked to bounce back by calling out an opponent that he has history with for a matchup that held big stakes for both men.
Vettori and Brendan Allen had previously brawled in a casino and that tension between them crossed over into the Octagon, producing the fight of the night during the UFC 318 prelims.
While it looks like Allen and Vettori have put their feud aside, their long-awaited clash didn’t end with the Italian earning his first win since March of 2023.
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Marvin Vettori honestly speaks on his UFC 318 loss after calling for fans to vote on who won
Marvin Vettori is currently riding a three-fight losing streak following two defeats since he made his UFC return.
Having beaten the likes of Paulo Costa and Kevin Holland in the past, Vettori challenged Israel Adesanya for the middleweight title at UFC 263 but since then, he hasn’t been able to put together back-to-back wins.
Two of the judges gave all three rounds to Brendan Allen at UFC 318, which doesn’t reflect how back and forth the contest was, even if ‘All In’ deserved to get his hand raised.
In a post on social media, Vettori called for the fans to vote for who they thought won the fight after he watched it back for a third time.
Out of over 3,700 votes, 65.7% agreed with the judges in giving Allen a much-needed bounce back victory.
Vettori responded to the results of his poll with an honest statement about his performance on the night and where he goes from here.
“Fair enough, it was close but damage probably made the difference. I should have done much better anyway. If I keep going like this it ain’t going anywhere, I’ll figure it out no excuses onto the next.”
Marvin Vettori’s heart and toughness can never be questioned
Marvin Vettori may have lost his last three fights but in each of them, his heart and toughness were on full display as he kept trying to win until the final bell sounded.
UFC commentator Jon Anik spoke about this during the Anik & Florian Podcast, drawing attention to the loss of his brother which certainly would’ve impacted ‘The Italian Dream’ ahead of fight night.
“He and his brother were so close in age and Marvin’s dad flew to Louisiana. He breaks his nose early on in the fight, valiantly fights through that. I just have buckets of respect for Marvin Vettori. Being able to compete in his brother’s honor and I just can’t even relate to that type of emotional mental and physical toughness.”
Still only 31 years old, Vettori has time on his side to turn things around and get back to winning ways.