"He was completely outclassed"- Josh Thomson explains why Marvin Vettori was "one step behind" the whole fight with Robert Whittaker
During the latest episode of Weighing In, Josh Thomson discussed the UFC Paris co-main event between Robert Whittaker and Marvin Vettori. He detailed why Whittaker was continuously one step ahead of Vettori throughout their fight.
'The Italian Dream' looked set to push on from his decision win over Paulo Costa almost a year ago and make a claim for a shot at UFC gold. Unfortunately, he fell short in France. The 28-year-old will now have to fight his way back into title contention and collect a couple of wins against some tough competition at 185 pounds.
While speaking about the fight and how it played out, Josh Thomson stated that the Italian was "completely outclassed" for his 15-minute war against Whittaker.
"On the feet, he was completely outclassed, which is nuts to me because I know he's a good grappler, I know he's good in the aggression, and the pace and all those things, but you really need to evolve your standup if you're gonna fight someone like Robert Whittaker."
'The Reaper' ran away with the victory after a closely-contested first round, dominating the powerful middleweight and rightfully earning a unanimous decision win on the night.
Following his loss, Marvin Vettori took to the mic and gave a heartwarming apology to fans in his native Italy, asserting that Whittaker really is an elite-level opponent.
Check out what Josh Thomson had to say about the middleweight clash in the video below:
Is Robert Whittaker next in line for a title shot?
In the wake of his performance at UFC Paris, it would be hard to deny that Robert Whittaker deserves to be next in line to fight for the 185lb title.
'Bobby Knuckles' is quite clearly levels above everybody else in the division not named Israel Adesanya. Although he put on an all-time showing against Vettori, it's hard to believe he will be given the chance to reclaim his middleweight throne.
Having already come up short against 'The Last Stylebender' twice, the Australian would need something special to happen for the UFC to gift him another shot so soon. Nonetheless, if Pereira beats Adesenya later this year, 'Bobby Knuckles' might find himself in a favorable position.
Another matchup we could see Robert Whittaker partaking in next would be an all-out war against heavy-hitting Brazilian Paulo Costa.