UFC Fight Night: Costa vs Vettori- Paulo Costa vs Marvin Vettori: Main Card Prediction and Analysis

Top UFC middleweights Paulo Costa and Marvin Vettori go head to head in the main event for UFC Vegas 41. Both men are ranked inside the top five and are looking to get back to winning ways after losing to Israel Adesanya in their previous fights. Suffering a loss in a championship fight means it will take a couple of decisive showings to return to form.

Additionally, there’s a lot of chatter heading into the main event as the fight has now become a catchweight contest. Paulo Costa revealed that he won’t be able to make the middleweight limit and the fight was officially scheduled at 195-pounds. This last-minute changes added plenty of extra talking points going into this potential classic.

As weigh-ins approached, it was announced that the aforementioned fight was moved up to light heavyweight with both men making the 205-pound limit by the weigh-ins.

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UFC Vegas 41: Paulo Costa vs Marvin Vettori

All eyes are on ‘The Eraser’ as he’s had a rough go ever since losing to ‘Izzy’ back at UFC 253 in October 2020. The long lay-off notwithstanding, he also received flak for making comments that he was drunk on wine before his title fight. Coming into fight week at 211-pounds could prove to be the last nail in the coffin if he loses to Vettori.

The Brazilian will have to start off the contest fast and ensure he’s safeguarded against the early takedown. Vettori is adept at closing the distance and finding the single leg or double leg takedown on most of his opponents. Costa has the speed advantage on his side and he could search for blitzing power shots to rock Vettori.

Marvin Vettori is fresh off a loss to Adesanya back at UFC 263 in Glendale, Arizona and he’s keen to return to winning ways. From his standpoint, he is still better than the champion and he’ll have to prove it emphatically against Costa. A defeat to Costa at this stage would set him back in a massive way in the race back to the title.

‘The Italian Dream’ has all the skills on paper to outwork Costa despite not having the skills in the striking department. Vettori is able to search for timely takedowns and also maintains top pressure effectively. He’ll look to drag Costa to the canvas in the latter sections of the fight.

Prediction: Marvin Vettori to claim a fourth-round submission win.

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