Paulo Costa and Marvin Vettori look to recover following their losses against Israel Adesanya. Both of them challenged the Last Stylebender in a title fight and lost. Costa via ferocious KO and Vettori following a unanimous decision. BetXchange will deliver a preview of this event, along with our pick and the odds for the same.
The venue of the battle is the UFC Apex facility in Enterprise, Nevada.
Preview
Paulo Costa was considered one of the biggest threats to Israel Adesanya’s reign in the middleweight division. However, the Kiwi dismantled the Brazilian pretty fast and harshly, cementing his place on the throne. Ever since the Borrachina didn’t enter the ring, citing various reasons, injuries, poor financial terms, disputes with the UFC, etc.
He is one of the most powerful punchers in the division. Maybe even the hardest hitter. The reason for that is his physic, as he usually weighs at least 10 to 15 pounds more on the day of the fight than the limit.
Costa’s resume is pretty impressive. He has 13 wins so far, 11 via KO, one via decision, and one after a submission. The way he started his UFC adventure was more than impressive, trashing the likes of, Garreth McLellan, Oluwale Bamgbose, Johny Hendricks, and Uriah Hall with fierce KOs. After that, he beat Yoel Romero in the best ever fight in UFC (personal opinion) before losing to Izzy.
Marvin Vettori didn’t manage to defeat Adesanya in his latest fight at the UFC 263. He once again proved to be impregnable when it comes to being finished, but for the fifth time in his career, the Italian Dream lost via decision.
Vettori has arguably the strongest chin in the division, and he can eat so many punches that the opponent can’t endure hitting him as much as the Italian can absorb. He can be so annoying with his aggressive approach, and even though he sometimes doesn’t know what to do, Vettori will always go forward and pressure the rival.
In between his losses against Adesanya, Vettori posted five victories. His victims were Cezar Ferreira, Andrew Sanchez, Karl Roberson, Jack Hermansson, and Kevin Holland. Very solid names. And we need to add that Adesanya didn’t dominate him in each of those two contests.
Prediction
The main weapon of the Brazilian is his super-strong punches. But will that be effective against the guy who has a rock-solid chin and who got used to receiving hits and staying on his feet? Vettori has more aces down his sleeve, especially because he knows how to fight on the ground, which is something we haven’t seen from Costa in the previous matches. We are more than sure that the Italian will try to get the battle down on the mat in all five rounds, which is why we believe that he might be closer to a victory.
Don’t forget that his cardio is superb and much more tested than Costas. Plus, we don’t know what will be Borrachina’s condition, because he still didn’t cut his weight, some two days before the battle.
Pick: Vettori 0.60 at BetXchange
