Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream the UFC live on
your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the
ESPN app. After calling out practically everyone in his division and
a few others,
Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight Marvin
Vettori finally has a fight in the form of a previous
opponent. The story first breaking from
MMA Junkie on Friday, Vettori (15-4-1) confirmed on his
Instagram
page that he will be squaring off with Omari
Akhmedov (20-5-1) at UFC
256. The two middleweights will come to blows for the second
time on Dec. 12, and the expected venue for this pay-per-view card
is at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. They first fought at UFC 219 in
2017, where the bout was scored a majority draw.
Vettori last competed in June, when he tapped Karl
Roberson in the first round to settle their grudge match. The
win put Vettori on a three-fight win streak, which tied the record
for the longest win streak of any Italian fighter in UFC history.
By submitting Roberson, Vettori earned his first post-fight bonus
with the company. “The Italian Dream” has racked up nine submission
wins across his 15 career wins, and all nine have come in the
opening frame.
Following their draw in 2017 in Akhmedov’s return to 185 pounds,
Akhmedov went on to capture a trio of decision wins over Tim Boetsch,
Zak
Cummings and Ian
Heinisch to make his way up the rankings. In August, Chris
Weidman earned his first victory in a few years by beating
Akhmedov on the scorecards to snap that win streak. The Dagestani
has gone the distance in each of his last seven bouts.
UFC 256 is scheduled to take place on Dec. 12 most likely at the
UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Two title fights headline pay-per-view, as
Kamaru
Usman defends his welterweight throne against Gilbert
Burns, while Amanda
Nunes looks to stave off Megan
Anderson at featherweight. The other announced fight on the
main card is a pivotal strawweight tilt between Carla
Esparza and Amanda
Ribas.
