'It was a little bit funny'- Marvin Vettori has a chuckle thinking about what Kevin Holland said during their fight
Marvin Vettori recently weighed in on the mid-fight conversation between himself and Kevin Holland during the main event of UFC Vegas 23. Vettori was tickled by the fact that Kevin Holland had started talking to himself in the second round after failing to incite any response from the Italian in round 1.
Having a laugh while recounting the exchange, Kevin Holland said on the Real Quick with Mike Swick podcast:
"It was a little bit funny. Because I think he talked a little bit on the first, I didn't really pay any attention. Beacuse he was talking a little bit to me, a little bit to the coaches. Then on the second, he started talking to himself. He was talking to himself like, 'Oh f**ck! That hurt. Oh f**k! This and that.' I'm like, 'Okay'..(laughs)..just whatever, you know."
While Kevin Holland is known for his mid-fight banter, it certainly did not work in his favor here. He suffered a suffocating defeat to Marvin Vettori at UFC Vegas 23. Vettori repeatedly took down Holland and dominated him on the mat to pick up a lopsided unanimous decision with all three scorecards reading 50-44.
Marvin Vettori further said:
"Then he stopped for a while and then in the fifth he started again. And I'm like, 'Well, you know, he hasn't been talking for a while, he started again'. I got confident from that because I'm like, 'he's changing his demeanour based on what's going on so you know, it's a good sign for me definitely."
Marvin Vettori gets his title shot at UFC 263
Marvin Vettori will finally get his shot at the UFC middleweight title in a rematch against Israel Adesanya at UFC 263. The full-capacity event is scheduled for June 12 at the 18,000-seat Gila River Arena in Glendale, Arizona.
Marvin Vettori suffered his last defeat against Israel Adesanya in 2018 via a controversial split decision. 'The Italian Dream' has gone on a spectacular five-fight win streak since then, leading to his UFC title shot in a rematch against Israel Adesanya.
Israel Adesanya, meanwhile, will look to defend the middleweight title for the third time after an unsuccessful bid against Jan Blachowicz to become a two-divison champion earlier this year.