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A current UFC middleweight contender has issued a stunning demand to former UFC middleweight champion and all-time great MMA legend Anderson “The Spider” Silva. Marvin Vettori is currenlty ranked No. 14 in the UFC’s 185-pound division, and the 26-year-old is sick and tired of getting turned down for fights that might help boost his career to the next level.
Vettori expressed his dismay via Twitter on Friday by posting, “I was trying to be nice and everything but f*** man I’m tired of people turning me down. @SpiderAnderson said no @JacareMMA said no. Everybody has an excuse. You don’t wanna fight? Get the f*** out of the @ufc!”
I was trying to be nice and everything but fuck man I’m tired of people turning me down.
@SpiderAnderson said no @JacareMMA said no. Everybody has an excuse. You don’t wanna fight? Get the fuck out of the @ufc
With that tweet, Vettori suggested that he was in line to face veteran MMA stars Silva and Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza, but was turned down by each.
Vettori isn’t happy about that situation, so he’s telling both Silva and Souza to leave the UFC.
‘You Can’t Pretend to Pick and Choose Fights at This Level’
Vettori didn’t stop there.
Vettori later stated, “F*** man I get it legend here legend there but if you are in the UFC it means you belong with the best of the best. You can’t pretend to pick and choose fights at this level. I see this s*** over and over @Mickmaynard2 @AliAbdelaziz00.”
Fuck man I get it legend here legend there but if you are in the UFC it means you belong with the best of the best.
You can’t pretend to pick and choose fights at this level.
I see this shit over and over
@Mickmaynard2
@AliAbdelaziz00
Vettori (15-4) has won three straight UFC fights since losing to Israel Adesanya in April 2018.
“The Italian Dream” looked particularly impressive in submitting Karl Roberson in a grudge match fight that began in a hotel lobby but ended inside the UFC’s Octagon with Vettori submitting his opponent in one round.
Anderson Silva Is Coming off Knee Surgery
Meanwhile, Silva is coming off knee surgery as a result of an injury the 45-year-old legend sustained during his most recent outing against Jared Cannonier at UFC 237 in May 2019.
Cannonier stopped Silva in the first round.
The former UFC middleweight champion has lost six of his last seven fights, and his lone win was a controversial split decision over Derek Brunson at UFC 208 in 2017.
Still, Silva is considered by most to be one of the greatest UFC superstars ever. In fact, Conor McGregor listed Silva on top of his personal list of greatest MMA fighters in history earlier this year.
Silva’s career is still moving forward, and Vettori is angry that he won’t get the chance to face the fighter that was formerly the consensus top pound-for-pound fighter in the world.
Ronaldo Souza Has Lost 2 Straight UFC Fights
Meanwhile, Souza has lost two straight UFC fights though one of them was a split-decision loss to Jan Blachowicz in the light heavyweight division that could have gone either way.
Still, Souza, 40, has also likely seen his best days inside the Octagon already.
It makes sense why Vettori would want to face either or both, but it also seems reasonable that fighters in the assumed final stages of their careers would desire to be selective about who they want to spend their time with inside the UFC’s Octagon.
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