Despite putting up a valiant effort against Jared Cannonier, Marvin Vettori finds himself back in the loser's circle and has broken his silence following the defeat. The European has proven to be one of the toughest and most durable fighters to face in the sport, and this claim has only strengthened since his clash with Cannonier.
After being hurt on multiple occasions early on in the fight, 'The Killa Gorilla' rallied back to put on a striking clinic that ultimately led to a decision victory. The two middleweights battled it out in what could be considered a title eliminator showdown in a brawl that rightfully earned fight-of-the-night honors from the UFC.
In a post on social media, Marvin Vettori addressed his fans after taking a day to deal with the loss but promised them that he will come back from the setback stronger than ever before.
"A lion remains a lion. Spirit was never broken. I'll be back stronger, I promise you that."
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This loss will see Vettori lose his #3 ranking in the middleweight division and subsequently see him drop out of the top five if results elsewhere go against him.
At just 29 years of age, the grappler has every chance of returning to the top of the division and once again competing for UFC gold. Despite his lack of form inside the octagon of late, the athlete has aspirations of fighting his way back to the top and is eyeing a third fight with Israel Adesanya.
What record was broken during the Marvin Vettori vs. Jared Cannonier bout?
Not only was Marvin Vettori's must-watch outing against Jared Cannonier an all-time fight in the division, but it also broke records that will likely be tough to replace.
Despite often using his grappling to neutralize opponents, 'The Italian Dream' was forced to keep the affair on the feet. While the striking advantage was in his opponent's favor, Vettori did a great job at making the 25-minute war competitive.
Jared Cannonier dealt with adversity throughout the early rounds to later put on a show for those in attendance at the Apex. Having landed a phenomenal 241 significant strikes during the bout, the 39-year-old set a new middleweight record whilst also ranking fourth overall in UFC history.