Marvin Vettori is back in the winner’s enclosure off the back of a instant classic five round back-and-forth with one-time title challenger, Paulo Costa — besting the Belo Horizonte native with a unanimous decision (48-46, 48-46, 48-46) victory in the main event of UFC Vegas 41.
Headlining in a light heavyweight matchup against the #1 ranked contender, Vettori managed to signifcantly outland his opposition, particularly a floor higher, opting for combinations and a more frequent output over the majority of the 25-minute limit.
For Costa, despite his questionable fight week prior to tonight’s headliner, the Brazilian turned in a hugely impressive and admirable performance over the course of five gruelling rounds — landing a multitude of bone shaking body kicks off a whipping right limit.
Costa was however deducted a point by referee, Jason Herzog despite his protests, having landed an inadvertant eye poke midway through the second round — putting even further onus on him to remove the judges from the equation against the Trento native.
Unable to mitigate the constant pressure of Vettori, as well as uncanny durability, Costa suffered a unanimous decision defeat — falling to his second consecutive loss, while Kings MMA star, Vettori puts himself firmly back into title contention.
Off the back of the victory, Vettori still branded Costa a “c*nt” for the turbulent fight week endured as a result of Costa’ weight-cut fiasco, but admired the Brazilian’s powerful offense. In a tongue-in-cheek comment, the Italian claimed he would buy himself another watch after he had received 20% of Costa’s fight purse.
Below, catch the highlights from an excellent main event tilt between Vettori and Costa.
