In a bid to separate themselves from the best of the rest ahead of UFC Vegas 75 this weekend, middleweight division contenders, Marvin Vettori and Jared Cannonier will look to kickstart their track to a potential second siege at Octagon gold under the promotion’s banner.
Vettori, a one-time middleweight title challenger and the current #3 ranked division contender, managed to retain his slot within the division’s top-3 standings earlier this year on the main card of UFC 286 in March, defeating Georgian contender, Roman Dolidze in a unanimous decision win at The O2 Arena.
As for Cannonier, the #4 ranked challenger, successfully rebounded to winning-ways off the back of his unsuccessfult title challenge against Israel Adesanya during International Fight Week last summer, defeating Sean Strickland in a close, split decision win at UFC Vegas 66 last December in a main event clash.
And with both contenders likely more than a win away from a potential rematch and trilogy bout with Adesanya – in Vettori’s case, fans are likely undecided when it comes to wagering and betting on this week’s headliner.
According to BetWay, Vettori is fastly closing as a quite decent betting favorite at -120 to defeat Cannonier this weekend in ‘Sin City’, however, with Cannonier closing himself as an underdog at a considerable +160 at the time of publication.
Himself twice sharing the Octagon with two-time and current undisputed middleweight champion, Adesanya, Italian contender, Vettori pushed the City Kickboxing staple to his limit in their first clash back in 2018, dropping a close decision loss.
And in the pair’s title rematch at UFC 263, the Trento native once more lost a decision to Adesanya – this time with undisputed middleweight spoils on the line.
In outings since, Vettori has bounced back to the winner’s enclosure with victories against Paulo Costa, and the above-mentioned, Dolidze – with a loss to former champion and common-foe, Robert Whittaker sandwiched between.
Earning his UFC 276 title fight with Adesanya off the back of a two-fight winning streak, Cannonier, a former light heavyweight under the banner of the promotion, turned in back-to-back wins over Kelvin Gastelum, before finishing perennial contender, Derek Brunson with a stunning series of elbow strikes, resulting in a KO win in February of last year.
Off note on the main card to boot, Armenian grappling and wrestling talent, Armen Tsarukyan is slated to return to the Octagon – taking on veteran Brazilian contender, Joaquim Silva.
Attempting to extend his winning run to two fights after a recent decision success over Damir Ismagulov, Tsarukyan is closing as a whopping -1,000 betting favorite to defeat the returning +600 underdog, Silva at the UFC Apex facility.
12-3 as a professional, renowned finisher, Silva most recently defeated Jesse Ronson back in October of last year – snapping a three-fight losing run.
A heralded contender at the 155 pound limit, Tsarukyan has turned in notable Octagon victories against the likes of Olivier Aubin-Mercier, Davi Ramos, Matt Frevola, and Spanish grappler, Joel Alvarez.
Tsarukyan’s sole Octagon professional losses have come against Polish standout, Mateusz Gamrot, while in his organizational bow, dropped a decision loss to current undisputed lightweight champion, Islam Makhachev.
Jared Cannonier is ready to pack his bags and head for the land down under if it means another opportunity to become the UFC middleweight champion. ‘Killa Gorilla’ is gearing up for a high-stakes 185-pound clash with fellow-top contender Marvin Vettori at a Fight Night event on June 17. With major title implications on the […]
Marvin Vettori main event June 17 
Michael Morales calls game and gets the first round finish! 
