Marvin
Vettori’s first Octagon apppearance since July 2023 didn’t go
as he envisioned.
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“The Italian Dream” suffered his second straight defeat in the
UFC Vegas 104 headliner, dropping a five-round verdict to
Roman
Dolidze in a middleweight rematch at the UFC Apex on Saturday
night. Vettori defeated Dolidze via unanimous decision in their
first meeting at UFC 286 in March 2023.
While Vettori rocked his adversary in the third frame, Dolidze
ultimately outstruck his rival and landed more offense of
significance over the course of the 25-minute affair.
“Nothing too bad, just some cuts and bruises,” Vettori said on his
Instagram Stories. “F—k man, life sometimes shows you that even if
you give your heart out and everything you got, you still fall
short. That was a close fight. I almost had him in the third
[round] but I guess it wasn’t enough.”
It was Vettori’s first appearance since a unanimous decision loss
to Jared
Cannonier at UFC on ESPN 47. The former title challenger
recently relocated to
American Top Team in hopes of a fresh start.
“F—k. I don’t even know what to say,” Vettori said. “Thank you to
ATT. The best in the world … thank you UFC. What the f—k can I say?
I don’t know. That’s it.”
A former 185-pound title challenger, Vettori has lost three of his
last four Octagon appearances. The 31-year-old Italy native has
compiled a 9-6-1 UFC record since beginning his promotional tenure
in 2016.