Photo: Marvin Vettori shows off multiple scratches on his face after UFC Vegas 16 war against Jack Hermansson

After throwing heavy leather at each other for 25 minutes, Marvin Vettori and Jack Hermansson left the Octagon after what appears to be a potential fight of the year candidate.

The two middleweights went the distance, but it was Marvin Vettori who emerged victorious against his #4-ranked opponent. The fight crushed the previous record of most significant strikes landed in a middleweight bout.

Marvin Vettori took to his Instagram account and revealed a slew of nasty scratches on his face that he endured in his slugfest against Hermansson. "The Italian Dream" joked that Hermansson had a knife in his glove, considering the severeness of the scratches he received.

Marvin Vettori joked in an Instagram video that Jack Hermansson had a knife in his glove during their fight last night: pic.twitter.com/kZ4AAG5Kmp

— Nick Baldwin (@NickBaldwinMMA) December 6, 2020

After the fight, Marvin Vettori was critical of his performance and asserted that he could have done a much better job, while also praised Hermansson.

“I’m going to tell you the truth, I don’t feel great. I don’t feel I did a very good job. I feel I can do much better but man this guy is tough. I thought I'd have dropped him in the first and I thought I was going to finish him but he came back, his ground game was solid."

Marvin Vettori vs. Jack Hermansson boasts a new record

The 25-minute war that saw Marvin Vettori and Jack Hermansson go all out also forged a new record for most significant strikes landed in a middleweight bout. Some of the biggest names in MMA were thoroughly entertained by the thriller of a clash.

The feat was previously held by Isreal Adesanya and Kelvin Gastelum's battle in 2018, a fight often regarded as one of the greatest UFC fights of all time.

Most significant strikes in a middleweight bout... EVER.What a fight tonight from the UFC APEX 👏 #UFCVegas16 pic.twitter.com/u6WRY1sjjo

— UFC (@ufc) December 6, 2020

Marvin Vettori withstood a great deal of damage, but Hermansson's face wasn't looking pretty either. "The Joker" posted this photo on Instagram with several cuts and scratches on his face.

The 27-year-old Italian has made it clear that he would like to face former title contender Paulo Costa in his next fight. Costa is coming off an embarrassing loss at UFC 253 against Israel Adesanya.

With Vettori all set to propel up the middleweight rankings, a win against Costa would certainly make him the top contender to challenge Adesanya's throne.