Italian UFC star Marvin Vettori was far from impressed with his opponent Paulo Costa despite winning today’s main event.
After going down to middleweight champion Israel Adesanya in June, Vettori (now 18–5–1) bounced back by outlasting Brazilian Costa via unanimous decision in five rounds.
Not even a head kick straight across Vettori’s chin could take the Italian down.
“The kicks [from Costa] were the most impressive thing for me,” Vettori said after the fight.
“It was full power.”
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Leading into today’s showdown, Costa had caused the UFC and Vettori a number of headaches.
Vettori and Costa’s clash was originally set for 185 pounds before Costa declared he wouldn’t make weight, resulting in a 195-pound catchweight.
But then it became a 205-pound light heavyweight bout just a few hours before the weigh-ins.
The debacle also resulted in Costa forfeiting 20 per cent of his purse to Vettori.
“He’s a c**t,” Vettori said of his opponent after the fight.
“He should’ve made weight.
“It’s a respect to all of us. But, you know, I get to buy myself another watch with his money, and I still got the win — and I’m proud of it.”
UFC president Dana White praised Vettori’s professionalism and credited the Italian fighter for allowing the main event to go ahead.
“We were trying to keep this fight alive and make sure that it happened, and we couldn’t have done it without a guy like Vettori,” White said.
“Vettori acted like an absolute professional, stud, a guy that’s incredible to work with. That’s why this fight happened.
“He was willing to fight at any weight and didn’t let this stuff mess with his head. At the end of the day, it’s all about the fight.
“They both fought their ass off. Costa looked better in the fifth round than he did in the first round, so he was definitely in shape. When a guy comes in that heavy, you have to question whether he’s in shape or not. He was in shape.”