Photo by Cooper Neill/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
Marvin Vettori is still angered by Karl Roberson’s withdrawal in their scheduled fight last month.
Heading into their rescheduled fight this weekend at UFC Vegas, Marvin Vettori and Karl Roberson’s beef is far from settled.
The two middleweights were supposed to meet back at UFC Jacksonville in May, but after Roberson missed weight for the fight he subsequently pulled out due to medical issues. What didn’t sit well with Vettori is the way he claimed Roberson handled himself after, and this led to a heated altercation in a hotel lobby between the pair.
Talking to MMA Junkie, Vettori still expressed his anger towards Roberson but admitted their beef will be settled in the cage.
“I just saw him here like three minutes ago,” Vettori said. “At the end of the day, when he steps in the cage, we’ll settle it there. I was just pissed because you’re acting tough in the f-cking lobby, and we were supposed to fight in a few hours. You should have just kept your mouth shut and show up in the cage.”
Vettori (14-4-1) was supposed to meet Darren Stewart at UFC London in March, but the whole card was cancelled due to the coronavirus outbreak. The Italian born middleweight continued by saying his altercation with Roberson was unprofessional and he does have respect “Baby K” in the cage.
“It was unprofessional and a bunch of things. But I think he’s a solid fighter – just not on my level. When the level of competition went up for him, he wasn’t able to match the level. That’s what happened. He’s just not on my level.
“I just kind of like flipped off on him when he tried to square off on me,” Vettori said. “At the end of the day, now I’m going to go out, beat him up as brutally as I can, and that’s it.
UFC on ESPN 10 takes place this Saturday at the promotion’s Apex facility in Las Vegas. A women’s strawweight fight between Jessica Eye and Cynthia Calvillo will headline the card.