Marvin Vettori plans to overwhelm 'Jacare' at UFC 256, start lining up 2021 hit list

UFC middleweight contender Marvin Vettori admits he’s preparing for the biggest fight of his life, but that only serves to excite him more for the challenge ahead.

“I’m super happy,” Vettori told MMA Junkie. “I get the chance to show that I’m a real contender. In me, I know exactly where I belong and what I deserve and everything, but I still have to show a lot, and I’m happy to do it. This in my opportunity, and nobody is going to take it from me.”

Vettori was scheduled to face Omari Akhmedov next month in about that would have served as a rematch the pair’s original 2017 meeting, which ended in a majority draw. Vettori admits he was excited about revisiting that blemish on his record.

“I would have liked to settle the score, to make it clear that I’m a different guy,” Vettori said. “The guy that fought Ahkmedov three years ago is not even close to the guy that I am now.”

When Ahkmedov was forced to withdraw from the card, Vettori lobbied for a fight with former UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman, but the matchup never materialized, and “The All-American” eventually accepted a bout with Uriah Hall, instead.

“We tried to change to Weidman,” Vettori said. “Weidman just went running for his life and just accepted another guy now.”

But in the end, Vettori (15-3-1 MMA, 5-2-1 UFC) said he’s happy with how things worked out, with former Strikeforce middleweight champion Ronaldo Souza (26-8 MMA, 9-5 UFC) taking the empty slot. The two now meet at UFC 256, which takes place at UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

“At the end of the day you can only control what you can control, and I’m two weeks away from the biggest fight of my career,” Vettori said. “It’s a bigger fight for my career, and I think I’m going to do more.”

While both athletes are certainly well-rounded fighters, Souza is renowned for his grappling prowess. A multiple-time Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champion, “Jacare” is capable of submitting any opponent. But Vettori, who said he trains year-round and rarely take more than two or three days off at a time, said he’s prepared for the challenge and isn’t letting jiu-jitsu serve as the entire focus of his preparation.

“I feel like a lot of people make the mistake of saying, ‘Oh, this guy is good at jiu-jitsu – OK, let’s go train a lot of jiu-jitsu,'” Vettori said. “Then you leave behind all the rest, and this guy is still better than you at jiu-jitsu, so you’re f-cked, you know?

“In six or eight weeks, you’re not going to be better at wrestling than the guy that was wrestling his while life and where his game is 100 percent wrestling or jiu-jitsu or striking. Of course, make adjustments in your training and work on specific things you think might happen good and bad in the fight. But at the same time, don’t leave the rest of your game behind.”

Vettori said his work ethic provides added assistance in readying for opponents because he doesn’t have to spend the first part of training camp simply getting in shape.

“I’m very prepared, and I’m also very aware of his qualities,” Souza said. “I know you don’t want to underestimate a guy like this, which I’m not doing. That’s why I’m training so hard. But overall, I’ve been really focused on my total game, also.”

A win over Souza would prove a big one for Vettori, who currently sits as an honorable mention in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie MMA middleweight rankings. “The Italian Dream” said he’s not trying to figure out exactly who might be next with a win because there are multiple possibilities on the table. However, he does have a few potential matchups in mind.

“To be honest, I’m really focused on this one, but after, I know it would put me in a good spot,” Vettori said. “I don’t think Weidman is ever going to fight me, but I think I’ll be definitely in a top-10 position, and I’m in the mix. Somebody will have to step up and accept my call, and I think they will after this fight.

“I would love to fight somebody like Darren Till, or even somebody like Jack Hermansson. If by any means Kevin Holland wins, I definitely want to fight Holland. But there will be a lot of good fights that come up. We’ll see.”

Vettori is constantly pushing to stay more active, even if he’s never been able to fight more than twice in a calendar year in the UFC. Still, he’s remaining optimistic about 2021.

After all, how could it possibly be any worse than 2020?

“I persevere, so I’ll say it again: I want to be more active next year,” Vettori said. “At least I want to fight three times. Hopefully fate will be on our side. It has to be better than this year.”

But it all starts with UFC 256. Vettori knows a big win against a recognizable name will do wonders for his career, and he believes he’s set up to earn it.

“I want to finish him,” Vettori said. “I think more than anything, I think I overwhelm guys. People when they fight me, they look different. They’re just overwhelmed, and I plan on doing that the same – go out there and do things at a speed and a pace that he can’t keep up with. Drown him in my fight, and the occasion for a finish will come up. If not, he’s just going to take a beating for the whole fight.”