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Marvin Vettori vs Paulo Costa is the fight to make. The Italian lost his title shot against Israel Adesanya at UFC 263. When asked at the post-fight conference about his future plans, 'The Italian Dream' said he wanted to take on 'drunk' Paulo Costa. The news quickly reached 'Borrachinha', who was more than ready to take the fight.
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With both fighters having no other reservations and a new broiling rivalry, UFC president Dana White might be tempted to book this one in the near future. If booked, there are not many reasons why Marvin Vettori vs. Paulo Costa wouldn't make for an exciting fight.
With that said, here are three reasons why Marvin Vettori vs. Paulo Costa makes sense.
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#3 Both fighters have lost championship fights in their last outings
Both Marvin Vettori and Paulo Costa stepped inside the octagon in their most recent outings to take a shot at the UFC middleweight title. However, both fighters failed in their efforts and returned to the drawing board. While each fighter would be more than ready to blame their respective defeats on blips, the truth is that neither one was at the level of 'The Last Stylebender'.
Paulo Costa was handed his first MMA defeat when Israel Adesanya TKO'd him at UFC 253. Meanwhile, Marvin Vettori lost to 'Izzy' twice in 2018 and 2021.
It would be best for Marvin Vettori and Paulo Costa to earn more experience in the middleweight division before staking another claim at UFC gold. There is no better way than to face each other, as defeating a top five would do good to the resume of whoever comes out as the winner.
Watch Israel Adesanya vs Marvin Vettori 1 here:
#2 Marvin Vettori and Paulo Costa haven't faced each other before
Since making his UFC debut in 2016, Marvin Vettori has gone 7-3-1, but has faced only two fighters in the top 10 - Jack Hermannson and Israel Adesanya. Similarly, Paulo Costa made his debut in the organization in 2017. His elite encounters include fights with Israel Adesanya, Uriah Hall and Yoel Romero.
Fighting against each other would give them a boost that is needed by both to rejuvenate their careers. Both fighters also make for an excellent match-up, with Costa's game based more on striking and Vettori's on grappling.
It is also interesting to note that both Vettori and Costa have sharpened their striking game as a result of losing against Israel Adesanya.
Israel Adesanya acknowledged in the UFC 263 post-fight interview that he was a little shocked at how improved Marvin Vettori's boxing was. The middleweight champ said-
"He is hard to put away and his boxing did improve, I'll give him that. His head movement improved but I had fun in there. I still wanted to punch him in the face more," said Israel Adesanya.
#1 - It's exciting to watch a heated rivalry unfold inside the octagon
If a fight between Marvin Vettori and Paulo Costa is booked, it would be exciting to watch how their rivalry unfolds at the weigh-ins, press conference, and finally, inside the octagon. It's one thing for fighters to indulge in some trash-talk to build hype after getting booked for a fight, but it's a completely different story when there's bad-blood even beforea fight is booked.
At the UFC 263 post-fight conference, Marvin Vettori said-
"But to be honest, I like to really destroy this drunk guy who can’t stay off drinking [Paulo Costa]. Either way, I’m game, I’m as game as it comes, I’ll always show up. You can count on me, when there’s a fight, a date, I will show up. So we’ll see. Paulo Costa, I feel like he’s a little ... not straight too much. Just I don’t know what he’s about, but if he can make it to a fight I’d like to smack this guy."
As word spread quickly and reached 'Borrachinha', he posted a video of himself training at the gym. Paulo Costa took a shot at Marvin Vettori in the caption, which read-
"Money or wine?"
When a fan replied to Paulo Costa's question by posting a GIF of Marvin Vettori, Costa laughed it off. The Brazilian fighter said-
"This boy is a joke lol"
Marvin Vettori and Paulo Costa are exchanging words and fight fans want to see this get addressed inside the octagon.
It's not clear which fighter would be the favorite in a bout between the Italian and the Brazilian. While Costa is ranked higher than Vettori in the UFC middleweight division, he couldn't last two rounds against Israel Adesanya. Meanwhile, fourth-ranked Marvin Vettori has spent a total of 40 minutes inside the octagon with 'The Last Stylebender'.
