Marvin Vettori Feels Like His Best Days Are Ahead

Vettori knew he would need a break after fighting Cannonier, a five-round war in which they combined to land a middleweight record 394 significant strikes on each other. The loss was also Vettori’s third in his last six fights, so he understood some things needed to change.

One of the bigger shifts came in his camp. For the majority of his UFC career, Vettori fought out of Kings MMA in Huntington Beach, California. However, he hopped around a bit before finally landing at American Top Team in Florida. There, Vettori enjoys the “structure and coaches,” as well as the fact that he’s just a little closer to home.

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Overall, he is happy to have taken a step back and watch the middleweight division move along with plenty of turnover. The last time Vettori fought, Israel Adesanya had wrested the belt back from Alex Pereira, and since then, the belt changed twice more from Sean Strickland to current champion Dricus Du Plessis. Add in newer faces in the Top 10 like Nassourdine Imavov, Khamzat Chimaev, Caio Borralho and Anthony Hernandez, and 185 feels rejuvenated.  

“I already thought that after my last fight, I had to take some time and figure out a few things, especially a different gym and stuff,” Vettori said. “I accepted that. It's just part of the game and you really have to accept that because I think that's how you grow from it. Something very big had to happen. Otherwise, I would have always had to find a way to keep up, to keep pushing, so I sat back, and I just looked at the game from the outside for a moment. 

“It was good. I think I improved a lot, and I evolved a lot, too.”

His return to the Octagon comes against a familiar foe in Roman Dolidze, who Vettori beat via decision in March 2023. The rematch came as a slight surprise to many, but Dolidze comes into the bout having won two fights in a row over Anthony Smith and Kevin Holland. 

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However, Vettori isn’t really caught up on the “who” of it all when it comes to fighting on March 15. For him, it’s about “getting back on the horse,” so much so that he—more than likely jokingly—thought he had accepted a fight against Roman Kopylov instead. 

Quips aside, Vettori is hoping for a “clean” performance, which would represent a stylistic shift from the marauding style that made him a miserable night for opponents.  Evolution is necessary, though, especially with a crop of young and hungry contenders hoping to push their way through the crowd at 185 pounds. 

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What hasn’t changed is Vettori’s commitment to the game. He still feels like he is carrying the flag for Italian MMA, and he still has golden goals in mind, as well.

“I put my heart into it,” Vettori said. “That’s one thing about me. I'll go out and just do everything that I can, that's for sure. I'll leave it all out there. I'm sure it's going to be a good performance.”