Where does Marvin Vettori go from here? Post-UFC 332 analysis
Marvin Vettori suffered yet another loss at UFC 332, and it could very well be the nail on the coffin of his MMA career at the highest level.
UFC 332 didn't go according to plan for Marvin Vettori. He suffered yet another loss, extending the worst rough patch of his career. Despite being just 33 years old, 'The Italian Dream's' dream of returning to title contention is now dead, and now, after his last fight, even Vettori's hope to stay on the UFC roster may be in jeopardy.
Marvin Vettori is no longer UFC-caliber
Before his fight with Ismail Naurdiev, Marvin Vettori expressed disgust over his most recent performances. Unfortunately for him, he couldn't turn things around at UFC 332. Despite his best efforts, Vettori was thoroughly outclassed in round one, and even seemed to have been rocked. Round two was far more competitive and a toss up, while round three was clearly a Vettori round. In the end, he lost via unanimous decision, leaving him 1-6 in his last seven fights, and on a five-fight losing streak.
Each loss has been, to an extent, against progressively worse competition. His last win streak was in 2021, and he's now fighting on the early prelims against unranked competition, which is a far cry from his UFC 263 headline bout with Israel Adesanya, where he lost via unanimous decision in a failed attempt at dethroning 'The Last Stylebender' as middleweight champion. Now, he's no longer a UFC-caliber fighter. His peak coincided with one of the weakest eras of the middleweight division, when the likes of Derek Brunson, Darren Till, Uriah Hall, Kelvin Gastelum, and Jack Hermansson were top-ranked 185-pounders. Yet, just five years later, all of those fighters are unranked, cut from the promotion, or retired.
For Vettori, it's a sign that he's better off outside of the UFC. He's no longer a serviceable fighter, having last won a fight three years ago. He's not powerful, and offers nothing on the feet besides a one-two and the odd low kick. On the wrestling and grappling front, he can wrestle, but he doesn't shoot for takedowns enough. His only exceptional traits are his chin and toughness. He's never been knocked out, or even knocked down, but it's no longer enough to get him by in the UFC. He should either retire from MMA or ply his trade elsewhere, whether that's in a different and lesser promotion or a different sport, like bare-knuckle boxing, where lesser UFC fighters have found success, and where Vettori's chin could serve him well.
