Tag: Marvin Vettori

‘If you’re a man, stand behind what you say’: Brendan Allen, Marvin Vettori trade barbs after UFC Fight Night 240

Following UFC Fight Night 240, Brendan Allen and Marvin Vettori displayed much disdain for one another.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Brendan Allen[/autotag] says he’s over [autotag]Marvin Vettori[/autotag], at least when it comes to rankings. As for the bad blood, that seems to have hit an all time high.

Immediately after his UFC Fight Night 240 win Saturday, Allen (24-5 MMA, 12-2 UFC) was criticized by his originally scheduled opponent, Vettori (19-6-1 MMA, 9-5-1 UFC), who withdrew due to injury weeks prior to the bout.

“Allen wtf u calling for the title man you look like dog sh*t got rocked every single round and prayed you were getting the takedown just to hang in there,” Vettori wrote on X. “That sh*t was embarrassing.”

Allen fought and defeated replacement Chris Curtis (31-11 MMA, 5-3 UFC) by split decision. When he spoke to reporters, including MMA Junkie, following the bout, Allen remained firm that the win should propel him over Vettori in the rankings anyway.

“He’s irrelevant,” Allen said. “He can’t even make it to a fight. He don’t want to fight. He can go on and sit. He’s old news. We’re going up. Pillow Fist, he could’ve got the business tonight. He could’ve got it this week. He could’ve got it in Miami. What? You want to talk now. The only time the dude wants to talk is when there’s people in between us. It’s that simple. We were prepping for him. We came and we got an even better, more technical guy that’s better than him at what he does and puts people away. Who’s he put away? Get the f*ck out of here. We ain’t worried about f*cking Marvin.

“… I should be No. 5 next week. You can’t stay in your position with f*cking not fighting. He hadn’t fought in what? The guy above me hadn’t fought in almost what a year-and-a-half? Whatever. He was supposed to fight tonight.”

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But Allen wasn’t done there. Allen revealed recent in-person interactions the two fighters had, though it’s unclear exactly when or where the encounters occurred. Allen claims Vettori wasn’t of the same demeanor as he was online.

“You said explicitly, explicitly on media, that when you saw me, you were going to beat my ass,” Allen said. “You saw me and the only thing you said was, “What’s up, man? What’s up, man?’ I ain’t say a word to you. Nothing. I see you again, ‘Oh, why you looking at me like that?’ I put my bag down to walk toward you and stepped behind someone. The only time he wants to do something is when it’s in front of people. So I don’t give a f*ck. If you see me, stand behind what you say. If you’re a man, stand behind what you say. That’s my problem. I never said anything about him. What? He said I said something on Twitter? Come on, bro. Everybody is talking on Twitter. Apparently, he’s talking on Twitter right now. It’s Twitter. Whatever. If you feel that way, keep that same energy when you see me in person. You’ve seen me multiple times.

“It is what it is. I’m really about whatever. I don’t care. I ain’t going to start nothing but I ain’t no b*tch and I ain’t going to run away from it. At the end of the day, that’s the only thing left I have to say to Marvin. We’re not going to fight unless you want to fight me here, at my gym, whatever. You’re behind me. You had your chance twice. You could’ve fought me last year. You could’ve fought me tonight. I prepared. I showed up. I saved the card with Chris. That’s the last thing I’ll say regarding Marvin.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 240.

Brendan Allen thinks UFC Fight Night 240 win still propels him past Marvin Vettori: ‘See you later, buddy’

The opponent is different but Brendan Allen still thinks the reward remains the same at UFC Fight Night 240.

LAS VEGAS – Because of outside forces, [autotag]Brendan Allen[/autotag] missed the opportunity to fight [autotag]Marvin Vettori[/autotag] on Saturday. He doesn’t think, however, the reward potential has been minimized by fighting a lesser-ranked opponent.

Allen (23-5 MMA, 11-2 UFC) fights Chris Curtis (31-10 MMA, 5-2 UFC) in the UFC Fight Night 240 main event at the UFC Apex. At a pre-fight news conference Wednesday, Allen admitted he sought to steal the No. 5 ranking from Vettori (19-6-1 MMA, 9-5-1 UFC) and still thinks it’s possible with a victory over Curtis.

“If I beat Chris on Saturday, I’m still going to be No. 5 next week,” Allen told MMA Junkie and other reporters. “You shouldn’t be able to stay where you’re at after being out for so long and then pulling out of fights. Other than that, I don’t really care. I’m going to move up. I’m going to go up and it’s old news from there. You could have fought me last year. You could’ve fought me this weekend. So, kind of, see you later, buddy.”

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According to Allen, the discrepancy in UFC rankings doesn’t accurately reflect the skill difference between Vettori and Curtis. He thinks Saturday’s outing actually got more difficult because of the swap.

“(Curtis’) IQ is better,” Allen said. “He’s got better technical abilities, in my opinion. I would say Chris is a lot tougher test than Marvin is. It is what it is. We’ve faced each other before, obviously. We only had a couple days or whatever to prepare if anything. Now, we have a little bit more time to prepare for each other. We’ll see who can make those adjustments and we’ll see what happens.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 240.

Brendan Allen: Beating Marvin Vettori gets me UFC title shot or, ‘worst case scenario, a true No. 1 contender fight’

Brendan Allen is confident a win over Marvin Vettori will put him in the title picture.

[autotag]Brendan Allen[/autotag] believes he’s closing in on a title shot, and depending on how things go in his next fight, he might just get one.

Scheduled to fight long-time contender [autotag]Marvin Vettori[/autotag], Allen is confident a win can get him a chance to fight for the UFC middleweight belt or, at worst, another fight to then determine the next challenger. Allen (23-5 MMA, 11-2 UFC) and Vettori (19-6-1 MMA, 9-5-1 UFC) are set to headline a UFC Fight Night on April 6 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

Arguably Allen’s biggest test to date, he believes there’s a lot on the line.

“I feel it’s based on my performance. I think if I go out there and finish him and make it look easy, I think I drop my name in the hat for a title shot,” Allen told MMA Junkie Radio. “But worst case scenario, a true No. 1 contender fight is after that. I really think it just comes down to me. It’s really up to me.

“I think overall, I think this is my fight to lose. I think I’m better in every single place the fight can go. The guy is definitely tough. He can sure take a beating, but I’ve shown I can give one. I really don’t put any emphasis on any of it. I just need to go out there and be me and see where the cards fall.”

Allen is riding an impressive six-fight winning streak since a December 2021 loss to Chris Curtis. In his most recent outing back in November, he submitted Paul Craig.

Allen would’ve liked to see Sean Strickland remain UFC middleweight champion, as he would much rather fight him than Dricus Du Plessis. However, in the end, Allen is just focused on getting a shot at the belt, not who’s holding it at the time.

“I was hoping it would be Sean to run that back, but I don’t mind it being (Dricus) either,” Allen explained. “I’ve been wanting to fight him since he got to the UFC, and he’s been steady flying by and taking the easy fights. It is what it is. He got the belt off it, but did he earn it? Is it his belt? To each their own. But no, it does not matter who’s champ when it’s my turn.”

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Matchup Roundup: New UFC fights announced in the past week (Jan. 1-7)

All the UFC fight announcements that were first reported or confirmed by MMA Junkie in the past week.

MMA fight announcements are hard to follow. With so many outlets and channels available, it’s nearly impossible to organize.

But here at MMA Junkie, we’ve got your back.

Each week, we’ll compile all the newly surfaced fights in one spot. Every Monday, expect a feature listing everything you might have missed from the UFC.

Here are the fight announcements that were broken or confirmed by MMA Junkie or officially announced by the promotions from Jan. 1-7.

Marvin Vettori vs. Brendan Allen booked to headline UFC Fight Night on April 6

A UFC event this spring will feature ranked middleweights competing in a pivotal main event.

A UFC event this spring will feature ranked middleweights competing in a pivotal main event.

The promotion announced on Wednesday that former title challenger [autotag]Marvin Vettori[/autotag] and [autotag]Brendan Allen[/autotag] will headline UFC Fight Night on April 6. Although the event doesn’t have an official venue or location, the UFC has submitted a request with the Nevada State Athletic Commission to host an event on that date at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

Vettori (19-6-1 MMA, 9-5-1 UFC) remains No. 5 at 185 pounds in the official UFC rankings, despite going 2-3 in his past five bouts. During that span, Vettori owns wins over Paulo Costa and Roman Dolidze, with losses to then-champion Israel Adesanya, Robert Whittaker and most recently Jared Cannonier in a one-sided unanimous decision last June.

Vettori will face a stern challenge in Allen (23-5 MMA, 11-2 UFC), who is riding a six-fight winning streak since a December 2021 loss to Chris Curtis. While it’s not the No. 1 contender fight he was hoping for, a win over Vettori seemingly would announce No. 8 Allen as a serious title threat at 185 pounds. He’s coming off a submission win over Paul Craig this past November.

UFC in 2023: A ridiculously robust look at the stats, streaks, skids and record-setters

Check out a full recap of 2023’s most significant footnotes and milestones from the events, the fights and individual performances.

Now that the year has come to a close, and with a major assist from UFC research analyst and live statistics producers Michael Carroll, here are some of 2023’s most significant milestones from the events, the fights and individual performances.

Marvin Vettori inspired by ‘crazy f*cker’ Sean Strickland winning UFC title: ‘Everything is possible’

Marvin Vettori and Sean Strickland appear to have a love-hate relationship, but the respect is there.

[autotag]Marvin Vettori[/autotag] and [autotag]Sean Strickland[/autotag] appear to have a love-hate relationship, but the respect is there.

Vettori (19-7-1 MMA, 9-5-1 UFC) has spent significant time training with UFC middleweight champion Strickland in the past. The two also have playfully traded barbs, with Strickland saying Vettori is “stupid as f*cking dirt,” but has potential.

Vettori admits it’s a little harder to talk smack to Strickland (28-5 MMA, 15-5 UFC) now that he’s champion.

“Sean is a crazy f*cker, but I’m also,” Vettori told MMA Junkie. “We get along, and I talk a lot of sh*t to him sometimes. Before, I could just say, ‘Shut the f*ck up because you’re crazy.’ But now he’s the champion, so he has a point. I kind of have to be like, ‘Sh*t, I can’t really tell you to shut up because you made it happen, so I kind of have to respect what you’re saying.’ Listen, Strickland made it happen for himself, and hat’s off to him.

“At the end of the day, obviously I want to be in his spot. But at the same time, we grinded, we trained for so long. I’ve known him for seven, eight years, so we trained, we had endless rounds, and it’s always good to see somebody next to you becoming champion. It just shows you it’s doable. He did it, even though he’s crazy. He made it happen, so everything is possible. (I’m) happy for him, even though one day I’ll take that spot for sure.”

Vettori wasn’t surprised Strickland dethroned Israel Adesanya at UFC 293, but admitted he didn’t think it would be that easy for him.

“The way that he did, this dominant, maybe a little bit – listen, if you’ve never trained with Strickland, you don’t really see what he’s about just by watching him,” Vettori said. “When you step in there with him, it’s a whole different ball game. His way of cutting the space off is very weird. If you haven’t sparred him, it’s tough to fight him.”

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Marvin Vettori: Israel Adesanya’s ‘time is over,’ Sean Strickland rematch wouldn’t even sell

Marvin Vettori thinks Israel Adesanya’s time on top is over.

[autotag]Marvin Vettori[/autotag] thinks [autotag]Israel Adesanya[/autotag]’s time on top is over.

Adesanya (24-3 MMA, 13-3 UFC) lost his middleweight title in an upset to [autotag]Sean Strickland[/autotag] (28-5 MMA, 15-5 UFC) this past Saturday at UFC 293. “The Stylebender” was dropped in Round 1, and ended up losing a decisive unanimous decision.

It’s no secret that former foe Vettori is not an Adesanya fan, but like a few other analysts have said, he’d like to see the division move on.

“I just don’t like this guy. Can I not like this guy? I don’t f*cking like this guy, so I personally think that he doesn’t deserve a f*cking rematch,” Vettori said on the Dream Rare Podcast. “Why? I don’t even think he wants a rematch. He felt like – he’s going to lose again, so I don’t even think like he wants the rematch right now.

“I mean like let’s see what Sean will do as the champ. He shook up the division and I think (Dricus) Du Plessis is on the line. He beat up (Robert) Whittaker the way he did, you cannot deny him a f*cking title shot man, way more than Adesanya. I think that’s also a very good fight for Strickland.”

Vettori, who’s coming off a loss to Jared Cannonier, thinks “The Killa Gorilla” should also be in the running for a title shot. Cannonier weighed in as a backup for Strickland vs. Adesanya, and also holds a recent win over Strickland.

Regardless of who’s next for Strickland, Vettori thinks Adesanya’s time as middleweight champion is over.

“Oh! f*cking Jared – Jared too,” Vettori said. “They will come at me for sure: ‘You’re salty,’ this and that. I think Adesanya’s time is over. It’s passed, so we’ll see. But I don’t think that rematch would even sell. I don’t know. Definitely, I would be way more excited to see Strickland and Du Plessis or even a rematch with Cannonier, and down the road who f*cking knows.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 293.

MMA Junkie’s Fight of the Month for June: Middleweight title contenders go to war

With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best fights from June 2023.

With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best fights from June 2023: Here are the five nominees, listed in chronological order, and winner of MMA Junkie’s Fight of the Month award for June.

At the bottom of the post, let us know if we got it right by voting on your choice.

Nominees

Sean Strickland: ‘Dumb’ Marvin Vettori has all the potential in the world, but ‘just needs better voices’

Sean Strickland gave Marvin Vettori some tough love after his UFC on ESPN 46 loss.

[autotag]Sean Strickland[/autotag] gave [autotag]Marvin Vettori[/autotag] some tough love after his UFC on ESPN 46 loss.

Vettori (19-7-1 MMA, 9-5-1 UFC) absorbed a middleweight record amount of strikes in a Fight of the Night decision loss to Jared Cannonier (17-6 MMA, 10-6 UFC) this past Saturday at the UFC Apex. He was able to wobble Cannonier early, but went on to absorb tons of punishment in the fight.

Strickland, who’s trained with Vettori at Xtreme Couture, lauded him for his toughness, but thinks he needs better guidance.

“The problem with Marvin, you guys: Marvin’s dumb,” Strickland told The Schmo. “Marvin’s stupid. If I went to Marvin and he put me in a position of power and I said, ‘Marvin, I want you to stand on one leg, just for five days and I think you’re still gonna win the fight,’ he would stand there on one leg for five days and not move. I just think Marvin needs to find a better short bus driver.

“You know what I’m saying? Right now, he’s on that short bus, and the people driving the short bus, they’re taking him in bad directions. I think if Marvin could find a better special needs helper, it will put him in the right direction. Marvin is a tough guy, great cardio, a lot of heart, stupid as f*cking dirt, but he has all the potential in the world. He just needs better voices.”

Strickland (26-5 MMA, 13-5 UFC) will look to emerge as a title contender when he meets Abus Magomedov (25-4-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) on July 1 at a UFC Fight Night main event at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 46.