Matchmaker Monday following UFC Vegas 23
UFC Vegas 23 was a great event for the promotion and Marvin Vetorri.
The event was broadcasted live on ABC, making it just the second fight card in UFC history to air on live on ABC. In the main event, Vettori set a UFC record of 11 takedowns in a fight in which he easily picked up a unanimous decision win over Kevin Holland.
Following the win, Vettori called for a title shot. It’s time to find out if that’s his next move and what’s next for Holland on this Matchmaker Monday.
Marvin Vettori
Result: defeated Kevin Holland by unanimous decision at UFC Vegas 23
Next: Paulo Costa or Darren Till
Vettori wants a title shot and I can see why. Since 2017, Vettori only has one loss and it came by split decision. That loss was to current middleweight champion Israel Adesanya.
As far as him getting his rematch with Adesanya next, not likely to happen.
Vettori currently is ranked sixth in the middleweight division so he’ll need a signature win against a top tier opponent before getting the shot as a win over Holland, who is ranked 10th and is now on back-to-back losses, will likely not cut it.
You have to feel bad for Vettori in a way, because Saturday’s fight was supposed to come against Darren Till, but Till pulled out of the fight with an injury. It’d be nice to see those two get rebooked. If not, then maybe Vettori and Costa can square off. Derek Brunson may also fit the bill here as he is also right in the mix and is a fight or two away from a title shot as well.
One thing Vettori does going in his favor is that Robert Whittaker, the No. 1 contender in the division, is fighting this weekend. If Whittaker gets upset, all of sudden you can start making a push to give Vettori the shot. However a Whittaker win will end all title shots as he’ll get a rematch with Adesanya.
Kevin Holland
Result: lost to Marvin Vettori by unanimous decision at UFC Vegas 23
Next: Brad Tavares
Kudos to Holland. He accepted the fight on short notice after losing a main event just a few weeks prior to this fight.
Clearly Holland is tough guy. He’s got guts. Unfortunately, he’s now on a two-fight losing streak and clearly he has a problem stopping takedowns. What he needs is a break and to come back against an opponent ranked below him and I like a matchup against Tavares.
Given how active Holland likes to be, god only knows what the future as in store so you will likely see him sooner than later.
