What was once an interesting stylistic clash has become a bitter
grudge match between two Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight
contenders.
In April 2024, Marvin
Vettori (19-8-1) and Brendan
Allen (24-7) were expected to square off in the main attraction
of UFC Fight Night 240. When Vettori sustained an injury less than
a month before the event, Chris
Curtis stepped in and ultimately came up short in his rematch
with Allen. Over a year later, the promotion has decided to match
Vettori and Allen against one another again, with the middleweights
now expect to square off at
UFC 318 in New Orleans’ Smoothie King Center. The rebooked
affair was first reported by
MMA Mania on Wednesday and confirmed by
multiple
outlets.
Vettori will be entering this bout on his first losing streak as a
professional, having dropped a pair of five-round unanimous
verdicts to Jared
Cannonier in 2023 and Roman
Dolidze in 2025. The Italian has struggled since vying for the
middleweight throne in 2021, coming up short to Israel
Adesanya and only winning twice since. He has heard the final
horn in his last eight outings, with six of those being 25-minute
affairs.
“All In” Allen is also coming into this matchup on the only
two-fight skid of his career, with decision losses to Nassourdine
Imavov and Anthony
Hernandez throwing cold water on his immediate title
aspirations. Before the defeat to Imavov, Allen had rattled off
seven straight victories, including four rear-naked chokes, over
the likes of grapplers Paul Craig
and Andre
Muniz.
When their first pairing was canceled, the two continued to feud
with one another. Their hostilities spilled over when they ran into
one another at the Hard Rock Live in Florida during 2024 PFL
Playoffs 2 in 2024, resulting in the two middleweights trading
punches on the casino floor. They will compete at an event
which only has two other bouts officially on the books: a
welterweight scrap pitting Adam Fugitt
against Islam
Dulatov after their first try fell apart in February, and the
main event of Max
Holloway vs. Dustin
Poirier 3.