UFC middleweight contenders Marvin Vettori and Paulo Costa went to war for all five rounds in the UFC Vegas 41 main event last Sat. night (Oct. 23, 2021) inside APEX facility in Las Vegas, Nevada, a high-octane headliner that most pundits will remember as big, dumb fun.
Israel Adesanya, however, was not impressed.
“The Last Stylebender,” shirtless and full of wine, uploaded his video reaction and did not have many compliments for either combatant. Adesanya torched “The Eraser” at UFC 253 but needed a pair of decision wins at UFC 263 and UFC on FOX 29 to get past “The Italian Dream.”
“What the fuck was that? … Literally just a shit show. That was horrible,” Adesanya said while watching Costa’s offense (transcribed by MMA Fighting). “I told you they’re both shit. It’s hard to look at [Costa] the same… How does Vettori punch and kick with literally almost no threat behind them? No pop, no sting.”
Adesanya is scheduled to rematch Robert Whittaker in the UFC 270 co-main event in January. The winner is expected to face the winner of Derek Brunson vs. Jared Cannonier, who also collide at UFC 270. That leaves Vettori and Costa on the outside looking in, though it would make sense to have “The Italian Dream” battle the loser of Brunson-Cannonier.
Still lots of moving parts in the 185-pound division.