UFC Vegas 17

UFC: Marvin Vettori doesn’t think Israel Adesanya has proved much

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UFC Vegas 17 tomorrow night is being headlined by a great middleweight contest between Jack Hermansson (21-5) and Marvin Vettori (15-4-1). The Italian Dream has won three consecutive fights leading into the main event tomorrow.

The last man to have defeated Marvin Vettori was current UFC middleweight champion, Israel Adesanya. The two men fought back in April of 2018 and Adesanya got the victory by split decision. Arguably the closest fight of Adesanya’s career.

For the last couple of years, Vettori has been asking for a rematch with Adesanya. Since that fight, Adesanya has become a superstar and captured the UFC‘s middleweight crown. Vettori has done some solid work, however, he’s still not close to another shot at the title.

Tomorrow night can of course change that. Yesterday was the UFC‘s virtual media day and the media members asked Vettori about the current champ. They asked him about his pending move to light heavyweight.

Vettori told the media, “He just thinks he can do whatever he wants. Reality, to me, he still didn’t prove much. His last fight was good, but it was more Costa beating himself. Before that, in my eyes, was one of the worst title fights ever.”

UFC’s Unproven Champ?

Let me start out by saying that I firmly disagree with Marvin Vettori. Yes, Israel Adesanya has proved a lot in the UFC‘s middleweight division. I will agree with Vettori saying the Romero fights was one of the worst title fights I’ve ever seen.

Vettori is known for being extremely outspoken and he’s not a fan of Adesanya. He believes that he won their first fight. While Vettori did do well, it’s worth noting that the vast majority of people believe that Adesanya won that fight.

Nevertheless, Vettori was more competitive with the UFC champ than anyone else outside of Kelvin Gastelum. If Vettori picks up the win tomorrow night, he might just be one fight away from a potential shot at the title.

Adesanya has made it clear that he wants to return to the UFC‘s middleweight division eventually. If Vettori picks up a couple of additional wins, I would love to see the two of them rematch to finally settle the score.

UFC: Manel Kape – Alexandre Pantoja is off

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Next weekend’s UFC Vegas 17 card is one of the more stacked fight night cards in recent memory. However, the card has taken some hits. Earlier this week, a positive COVID test from Leon Edwards scratched the main event against Khamzat Chimaev.

That fight is looking like it will be rebooked in January or February. Now, today we found out that UFC Vegas 17 is losing another fight. MMA Fighting was first to report that the flyweight contest between Manel Kape (15-4) and Alexandre Pantoja (22-5) has been called off.

Pantoja reportedly had to pull out of the fight for undisclosed reasons. While this wasn’t the biggest fight on the card, this was a fight that die-hard MMA fans were really looking forward to.

Manel Kape is one of the best flyweights in the world. This fight was going to be his UFC debut and he was getting a very exciting opponent in Alexandre Pantoja. The perfect introduction for Kape into the UFC.

Whenever Kape does make his UFC debut, he will do it on the heels of three consecutive knockout finishes. Those finishes led him to being crowned champion over in Rizin. Kape is expected to be an immediate title contender at 125 pounds.

What’s the UFC’s plan?

Again, at this time there is no reason as to why Pantoja had to pull out of UFC Vegas 17. That being said, the promotion is tossing around dates in February for the fight to be rebooked per MMA Fighting.

When these two do meet in the octagon, Pantoja will be looking to bounce back after a loss to Askar Askarov that came back in July. Since May of 2018, Askarov and current UFC flyweight champion, Deiveson Figueiredo, are the only two to beat Pantoja.

Pantoja even has a win over current number one contender, Brandon Moreno. I’m really happy to hear that the promotion is sticking with this fight instead of moving to something else. This should be a fantastic matchup whenever it does get finalized.

UFC Books Anthony Pettis – Alex Morono

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Today, the UFC got some tough news regarding their December 19th card. The main event between Khamzat Chimaev and Leon Edwards was called off due to Edwards testing positive for COVID-19. 

As a result, the UFC promoted Stephen Thompson – Geoff Neal to the main event of UFC Vegas 17. However, the loss of the main event also left one slot open on the stacked Fight Night card.

That’s when former UFC lightweight champion, Anthony Pettis (23-10), decided to step in and ask for a fight. The promotion worked on it this afternoon and they have found Pettis an opponent at welterweight per ESPN. 

Pettis will be taking on Alex Morono (18-6, 1 NC) at UFC Vegas 17. There is no word yet on if this fight will take place on the main card or the prelims. Normally, this would be a sure main card fight on a fight night card, but this card is incredibly stacked.

UFC Vegas 17’s New Fight

Pettis had been training and he’s been itching to get back into the UFC‘s octagon. Pettis last fought back in May when he defeated Donald Cerrone by decision. The fight was razor close, but Pettis was able to snap his two-fight losing streak.

The former lightweight champion has struggled to find his groove over the last few years. Late in the summer, Pettis seemed interested in fighting Anderson Silva, but that fight never materialized. Now, Pettis will get his next UFC opportunity against a hungry contender.

Alex Morono returned a few weeks ago to fight Rhys McKee. It was Morono’s first fight since he was knocked out by Khaos Williams. Morono was able to dominate the fight and win a unanimous decision.

He is now 4-1 in his last five fights in the UFC. He’ll be taking on a ranked contender and a former champion in Anthony Pettis. This is the biggest fight of Morono’s career and a golden opportunity for progression. Should be a great matchup on December 19th.

Stephen Thompson – Geoff Neal promoted to UFC Vegas 17 Main Event

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Today we heard some pretty terrible news regarding the highly anticipated UFC Vegas 17 card. The original headliner between Leon Edwards (18-3) and Khamzat Chimaev (9-0) was called off. Edwards tested positive for COVID-19.

Despite the fight still being a few weeks away, Edwards would not be able to compete. Sources told ESPN’s Brett Okamoto that Edwards was so sick that he lost 12 pounds and had to stop training for the UFC Vegas 17 main event.

Just a crushing blow for a fighter who’s already been through a lot in 2020. The current plan for the UFC is to move the fight back to some point in early 2021. A landing spot could be UFC 257 on Fight Island although nothing is close in terms of rescheduling.

With that in mind, the current plan is for the UFC to promote Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson (15-4-1) and Geoff Neal (13-2) to the main event slot. The highly anticipated welterweight matchup will still be a very high quality main event.

UFC Vegas 17’s New Headliner

Despite the depressing news about the Edwards – Chimaev fight falling through, there is still plenty of reason to be excited about UFC Vegas 17. The main thing is that the card is absolutely stacked and the new main event is a good one.

Wonderboy will be making the walk for the first time since he dominated Vicente Luque last November. Thompson is looking to get back to another UFC title shot and if he’s able to win on December 19th he will be one step closer.

Wonderboy will enter the cage currently ranked fifth in the welterweight division. Standing across from him is one of the brightest prospects in the entire UFC. Geoff Neal is a nightmare who lives up to his nickname, “Handz of Steel.”

Neal first came onto the scene on Dana White’s Contender Series back in 2017. Since then he’s fought five times in the UFC and he’s unbeaten. He’s finished four of those fights including wins over Mike Perry, Niko Price, and Belal Muhammad.

This is a big step up in competition for Neal, but if he’s able to win, he’s not far from a UFC title shot. I’ve been excited to see Neal get back into the cage and this is the perfect opponent. December 19th should still be an insane night for fight fans.