Despite losing multiple fights a few hours before kicking off the event, the show continued on for Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) as UFC Vegas 16 went down from inside UFC APEX last night (Sat., Dec. 5, 2020) in Las Vegas, Nevada. In the main event of the evening, Marvin Vettori upset Jack Hermansson to inch himself closer to Middleweight title contention (see it again here). In the co-main event, Jamahal Hill knocked out Ovince Saint Preux to cement himself as a legit threat at Light Heavyweight (see it again here).
Biggest Winner: Marvin Vettori
“The Italian Dream” wanted his chance to shine on the biggest stage and against a top-ranked opponent, and boy did he deliver. For 25 minutes, Vettori picked apart Hermansson with crisp striking, dropping him in the first round, nearly scoring a finish early on. He also stuffed several of Hermansson’s takedowns, which helped him to avoid playing defense to “The Joker’s” stellar jiu-jitsu. In the end, Vettori picked up a clear-cut unanimous decision win against the No. 3-ranked Middleweight in the planet. With the win, Vettori could find himself in the Top 10 later in the week, which means nothing but good things for his career.
Runner Up: Jamahal Hill
Hill had perhaps his best performance to date against a former 205-pound title contender, boxing up Ovince Saint Preux for 1.5 rounds before putting the finishing touches on “OSP” in the second frame. With the win, “Sweet Dreams” improved to 8-0-1 and could find himself making his way into the Top 15 pretty soon. Hill is the latest standout to come out of “Contender Series” — Dana White’s brainchild — which has discovered several diamonds in the rough, Hill being one of them. “Sweet Dreams” is on the fast track to getting bigger fights moving forward if he keeps doing what he’s doing.
Biggest Loser: Jack Hermansson
“The Joker” was knocking on the door of a shot at the 185-pound strap, but will now find himself trying to muster up major effort to get back up and into the mix after getting out-classed by Vettori in what was Hermansson’s third UFC headlining act. Prior to the fight, “The Joker” was very open that his main concentration leading up to the event was the standup department since his ground game is as solid as can be, but it didn’t seem to help him much against “The Italian Dream.” Sure, Vettori was a late change in opponent for Jack, but the fact remains that Marvin took the fight on short notice, as well. That is now two losses in three fights for Hermansson, who will be going into his next bout with a bit more added pressure on his shoulders.
For complete UFC Vegas 16 results and coverage click here.