The Ultimate Fighting Championship has three weeks
to come up with a top-10 middleweight or an upcoming show will be
in dire straits.
As first reported by Fight
Bananas on Thursday, and subsequently confirmed by
multiple
outlets, Marvin
Vettori (19-7-1) will no longer be competing in the main event
of
UFC Fight Night 240 on April 4. The reasons for his withdrawal
are currently undisclosed. His foe Brendan
Allen (23-5) suggested earlier on Thursday on Instagram that
the fight was off, while calling for names including Jared
Cannonier, Robert
Whittaker and Israel
Adesanya.
This marks the first time that “The Italian Dream” has pulled out
of a UFC fight. The veteran middleweight has had numerous fight
cancelations over the years, but none had been previously
attributed to him. The former title challenger has struggled as of
late, alternating wins and losses since a clear-cut defeat to
champion Adesanya in 2021. While the newfound Xtreme Couture
product pulled off wins over Paulo Costa
and Roman
Dolidze, he came up short to Whittaker and Cannonier in marquee
matchups—the latter a five-rounder.
Allen hopes to remain on the lineup, but it is unclear whether the
promotion will find a suitable replacement for on short notice. The
top-ranked 185-pounder has rattled off six straight wins, with five
of those coming by rear-naked choke. On his way up, he submitted
names including Sam Alvey,
Andre
Muniz and Paul Craig
to get into a matchup against the top echelon of his division. “All
In” sports a finish rate of 83% as a pro, with eight of his 11 UFC
victories coming inside the distance.
UFC Fight Night 240 takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on
April 4, and the headliner is currently in jeopardy. As the card is
currently constituted, the co-main event comes at bantamweight
between Norma
Dumont and former featherweight titleholder Germaine
de Randamie. Other main card pairings include a bantamweight
scrap between Heili
Alateng and Victor
Hugo Silva, as well as a 145-pound clash pitting Alexander
Hernandez against Damon
Jackson.