Marvin Vettori

Overview

Nine UFC losses, and not one of them came by knockout or submission. Every one went to the judges.

That is the strangest fact on Marvin Vettori's record, and it cuts both ways. The Italian middleweight from Trento is 9-9-1 in the UFC (19-11-1 across all promotions), and he has never been finished inside the Octagon. He has also lost his last five in a row, all by decision.

UFC Career

Vettori debuted in August 2016 with a first-round submission of Alberto Pereira at 4:30. Four months later he dropped a unanimous decision to Antonio Carlos Junior, and his early run was uneven: a win over Vitor Miranda, a draw with Omari Akhmedov, then a split-decision loss to Israel Adesanya in April 2018.

From there he built his longest streak, five wins in a row. Cezar Ferreira and Andrew Sanchez went by decision, Karl Roberson by first-round submission, and then came back-to-back five-round main events. He beat Jack Hermansson and Kevin Holland, both rated "strong" by our model.

He got the Adesanya rematch at UFC 263 and lost a five-round unanimous decision to the one opponent in that stretch our model rates "elite." He answered with another main-event win, a five-round decision over Paulo Costa in October 2021.

Then the results turned. Robert Whittaker beat him in September 2022. A win over Roman Dolidze in March 2023 was the last of the run, and since then he has lost to Jared Cannonier, Dolidze in the rematch, Brendan Allen, Brunno Ferreira and Ismail Naurdiev. The Cannonier and Dolidze fights were five-round main events. The Allen fight was against another opponent our model rates elite.

He has headlined five times in the UFC, and all five went the full five rounds.

Fighting Style

Vettori is a busy striker who is very hard to take down. He throws and lands at a high rate and defends strikes better than most, though he also absorbs more than most. His accuracy and his own takedown attempts sit around the UFC average, and he rarely hunts for submissions.

His finishing pattern is thin and early. Of his nine UFC wins, seven came by decision and two by submission, both in the first round. There are no knockouts on his UFC record, and none of his losses ended before the final bell.

His fights tend to be decided by volume and defense, and the judges usually get the last word.

Notable Wins

• Jack Hermansson — unanimous decision, round 5, UFC Fight Night: Hermansson vs. Vettori (2020)
• Kevin Holland — unanimous decision, round 5, UFC Fight Night: Vettori vs. Holland (2021)
• Paulo Costa — unanimous decision, round 5, UFC Fight Night: Costa vs. Vettori (2021)
• Roman Dolidze — unanimous decision, round 3, UFC 286 (2023)

Quick Facts

• Division: Middleweight
• UFC record: 9-9-1
• Professional record (all promotions): 19-11-1
• UFC debut: 2016
• Born: Trento, Italy
• Team: Kings MMA, Huntington Beach, CA
• Height: 6'0"; reach: 74"