'The Italian Dream' is back this weekend in a matchup that was not on his radar until it landed on his table.
It has been a long time since we saw Marvin Vettori in the Octagon for the last time, with the former title -published for 20 months.
After Vettori had withdrawn from a fight with Brendan all because of a freak injury, the last time the 31-year-old competed was the most devastating loss of his career to Jared Cannonier.
He now returns on March 15 to head UFC Vegas 104 on the Apex, where he will compete in a medium -sized rematch.
With Vettori who beat Roman Doldize in their first meeting at UFC 286, he will now try to replicate this performance to go back to winning ways.
Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty images
Marvin Vettori says he did not expect him to fight Roman Dolidze again, agreed with several other fights
After he defeated Roman Dolidze only two fights ago, Marvin Vettori recently admitted that this Rematch was not something he looked at for his octagonal return.
The #8-ranking competitor told Shakiel Mahjouri that he originally thought that he would fight against the Roman Kopylov of Russia, who recently achieved a controversial finish on Chris Curtis in January.
“No, I actually thought that I fought against Kopylov and then actually against Dolidze moisture. To be honest, there is so much about me that I don't even care about the opponent at the moment, so it's just another fight. “
Vettori further said that during his time where he tried to book a fight, the opponent is never really important to him.
After alternating victories and losses since losing its middleweight title fight with Israel Adesanya on UFC 263, he only fought in high -level competitions.
In the same interview, Vettori mentioned two other middleweight contenders that he says he agreed to fight before the Dolidze Rematch was officially made.
“Yes, I mean, I don't care. I don't even know if it was because of their side, only a few names were thrown at me, but then it didn't happen. One was (Joe) Pyfer and the other was (Michel) Pereira I think, but I don't even know if my name was coming to their table. It came by my side and I said yes, no problem. I wanted to fight so much that anyone, you know. '
UFC Vegas 104 is a big moment for Marvin Vettori
After he had been out for so long, UFC Vegas 104 is a chance for Marvin Vettori to prove that he is still a threat in the middleweight division.
A lot has changed at the top of the weight class since he last fought with Dricus du Plessis to become the champion and to defend the belt twice.
The care for Vettori is that his former opponent, Roman Dolidze, has been more active than he has with back-to-back victories in 2024 after a majority decisions for Nassourdine Imavov.
Although Vettori is still deceptively young, despite drawing at the UFC in 2016, 20 months may be difficult for him to shake off in a competitive Rematch.
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