Highlights! Vettori Outduels ‘Joker,’ Stakes Claim To Top 5

Marvin Vettori stole the show last night (Sat., Dec. 5, 2020) at UFC Vegas 16 live on ESPN+/ESPN2 from inside UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada, when he outlasted No. 4 ranked middleweight contender Jack Hermansson via unanimous decision. The two middleweights poured in a five-round main event complete with over 600 combined strikes thrown.

Both fighters came out firing with heavy leather and kicks. During an exchange along the cage Vettori clipped Hermansson with a crisp left and “Joker” fell to the canvas. Vettori almost finished the fight with heavy ground-and-pound but Hermansson survived and slowed the action.

The second round saw Hermansson go to his touted ground game and take Vettori down, but the Italian fighter kept reversing and put “Joker” on this back. The action returned to the feet towards the end of the round and Hermansson was able to score some points from range. Hermansson regained even more momentum in the third after landing big right hands on the feet. Vettori was still returning but his output dipped and he fell behind in total strikes.

Vettori came back alive in the fourth as he kept Hermansson on his back foot and defending. Hermnasson responded with a big combination with about a minute left, but Vettori fired back his own power shots that forced “Joker” to cover back up. Both middleweights emptied the tank in the fifth as Hermansson landed heavy uppercuts and Vettori went back to his left. Hermansson tried to take the judges out the equation but Vettori’s defense and last-second grappling skills sealed the deal for the Italian.

Check out the highlights below courtesy of UFC/ESPN.

For complete UFC Vegas 16 results and coverage click here.