UFC Vegas 90 needs a new headliner.
No. 5-ranked UFC Middleweight contender, Marvin Vettori, has been forced out of his upcoming five-round match up against the No. 6-ranked Brendan Allen for their April 6, 2024, date, confirms MMA Fighting. The reason for Vettori’s withdrawal wasn’t specified. As for Allen, it remains to be seen whether or not UFC will seek a replacement opponent or reschedule the bout. Regardless, “All In” will welcome whomever.
“I was ready for everything, so now I am the #5 @ufc middleweight in the world!” Allen said in an Instagram post. “So who above me is trying to fight soon? @killagorillamma [Jared Cannonier] @robwhittakermma [Robert Whittaker] sean [Strickland] @stylebender [Israel Adesanya]”
Vettori, 30, last fought when he dropped a unanimous decision loss to Jared Cannonier in June 2023. Unfortunately for “The Italian Dream,” the Fight of the Night effort saw Cannonier set a new record for the most significant strikes landed in a UFC fight. Since his June 2021 title loss to Israel Adesanya via unanimous decision, Vettori has alternated wins and losses to go 2-2 with wins over Paulo Costa and Roman Dolidze.
Allen, on the other hand, has been red-hot within the Middleweight ranks. The 28-year-old submission specialist has finished five of the six wins on his current streak (23-5), all of which were rear-naked chokes.
The adjusted UFC Vegas 90 line up can be seen below.
- 125lbs.: Jose Johnson vs. Lucas Rocha
- 155lbs.: Trevor Peek vs. Charlie Campbell
- 145lbs.: Alexander Hernandez vs. Damon Jackson
- 135lbs.: Alateng Heili vs. Victor Hugo
- 155lbs.: Piera Rodríguez vs. Cynthia Calvillo
- 170lbs.: Court McGee vs. Alex Morono
- 265lbs.: Valter Walker vs. ?ucasz Brzeski
- 135lbs.: Dan Argueta vs. Jean Matsumoto
- 135lbs.: Norma Dumont vs. Germaine de Randamie
- 135lbs.: Nora Cornolle vs. Melissa Mullins
- 155lbs.: Ignacio Bahamondes vs. Christos Giagos
- 145lbs.: Morgan Charrière vs. Jose Mariscal
- 185lbs.: César Almeida vs. Dylan Budka