Marvin Vettori Makes Strong Statement Ahead of UFC Return

Getty Marvin Vettori

Top-ranked UFC middleweight Marvin Vettori is ready to take the division by storm by “beating everybody they put in front of” him until he becomes the 185-pound king.

“The Italian Dream” recently spoke with MMA Junkie ahead of his Octagon return. He’s scheduled to put his No. 4 ranking on the line against surging Roman Dolidze, who occupies the No. 9 spot per the official UFC standings. They’ll compete in the UFC 286 main card opener on March 18 at the O2 Arena in London, England.

For Vettori, he’ll look to bounce back from his September defeat to former middleweight champ Robert Whittaker by halting Dolidze’s four-fight win streak. And after that, he said he’ll continue pressing toward another title shot.

“I’m still running after the title, don’t get me wrong. Don’t count me out, I’m in the top five, I’m one of the youngest in the division, and I’m coming for everything. I already faced everybody in the division and I can’t wait to just put it on, and I really want a finish, and we go from there.”

Vettori had the opportunity in June 2021 to become the UFC’s first-ever Italian champion. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to topple then-king Israel Adesanya, dropping a one-sided unanimous decision to “The Last Stylebender” at UFC 263.

Vettori Believes He Has What It Takes to Beat Both Adesanya & Current Champion Alex Pereira

The 185-pound strap changed hands for the first time in three years after Alex Pereira stopped Adesanya via TKO at UFC 281 in November. The promotion decided to stage an instant rematch considering The Last Stylebender’s longtime dominance in the division, and the two will battle again on April 8 as the UFC 287 headliner.

Well, it doesn’t matter who is in Vettori’s way, whether it be Adesanya, Pereira or Whittaker. “The Italian Dream” is confident that the improvements he’s made to his game are enough to propel him to the top of the middleweight mountain.

“The middleweight division is so open,” Vettori said. “Pereira is the champ right now, he’s fighting Adesanya. I really believe I would do really well against those two now. My grappling has improved a lot, my kicking has improved a lot, I’m way more of a finisher right now. The division is so open. Like Pereira is 35 or 36, Adesanya is 33 or 34. Whittaker is not a brand-new flower even though he’s a beast. So yeah, it’s all about matchups.”

He continued, “I’m just gonna keep winning and just going to be right there beating everybody they put in front of me, and I’m sure the title will come.”

Vettori Has Been a UFC Athlete for Over 6 Years

Vettori made his promotional debut during UFC 202 — one of the most purchased pay-per-view events in UFC history. He fought Alberto Uda and tapped him out in the first round with a guillotine choke. Fast forward over six years and Vettori has compiled a UFC record of 8-4-1.

He holds notable wins over names like Paulo Costa, Kevin Holland, Jack Hermansson. He boasts a professional mixed martial arts record of 18-6-1 with nine wins by submission and two via KO/TKO.