Marvin Vettori took on Jack Hermansson on short notice at UFC Vegas 16. ‘The Joker’ was initially set to fight Darren Till, however, an injury forced ‘The Gorilla’ out of the fight. Kevin Holland then stepped in to take the fight against Hermansson. A positive COVID test ruled him out as well.

Just when all hope was lost of securing a fight, ‘The Italian Dream’ stepped up on short notice to save the main event last night.

Vettori had nothing to lose. However, if he won, he would ensure a rank in the top five of the UFC’s middleweight division- something that no Italian had never done before. ‘The Italian Dream’ stepped seized his opportunity and is now reaping the rewards of a bold move.

Read: “Let’s go baby”- Marvin Vettori calls out Paulo Costa for a fight 

Marvin Vettori made history on Saturday night 

Vettori took to Instagram after the fight to share reveal the scars and bruises sustained from the fight. He said, “Bro, I get the punches man. Like, it’s all good, but what are these f**king scratches man? It’s f**king crazy. I got slashed up. Like he had a knife in his gloves”

‘The Italian Dream’ made history by becoming the first Italian-born fighter to headline a main event under the promotion. He started off the fight extremely well and scored an early knockdown. Vettori spent the better part of the first round on top of Hermansson. 

However, as the fight continued, Hermansson came back stronger. Both men had to dig deep and fight through slumps to make it to the end. It was a thrilling back-and-forth fight. In the process, the two men set a record for the most combined significant strikes landed in a middleweight fight. 

At the end of the fight, ‘The Italian Dream’ had done enough according to the judges to secure a unanimous decision win. After his win, he called out fellow middleweight Paulo Costa for his next fight. 

What did you make of the fight between Jack Hermansson and Marvin Vettori? Let us know in the comments below.