Rafael dos Anjos recalls the time he met a teenage Marvin Vettori in Italy ahead of The Italian Dream's fight at UFC Vegas 23
Rafael dos Anjos has shed light upon the inspirational story of Marvin Vettori. RDA recalled the time Vettori had attended one of his seminars back when The Italian Dream was a teenager.
Former UFC lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos is well-known for helping others hone their martial arts skills. From conducting seminars to helping out his teammates at the gym, Dos Anjos has a reputation for being one of the most respectful fighters in MMA who has no qualms about sharing his knowledge with others.
Ahead of Marvin Vettori’s high-stakes clash against Kevin Holland at UFC Vegas 23 aka UFC on ABC: Vettori vs. Holland, Rafael dos Anjos has taken to Twitter to reveal a rather intriguing fact.
Rafael dos Anjos' tweet read as follows –
“Fun fact...@MarvinVettori Back when Marvin was 19 years old he attended one of my seminars back in 2013 in Italy, and tomorrow he’s competing on @ufc main event, good luck @MarvinVettori”
Rafael dos Anjos noted that when Marvin Vettori was 19 years old, he’d attended one of Dos Anjos’ seminars in Italy. RDA alluded to the heights of success Vettori has scaled in his career in the ensuing years, adding that the young Italian fighter is now set to compete in the UFC's main event.
Rafael dos Anjos trained at the world-renowned Kings MMA under Rafael Cordeiro from 2012 to 2016, whereas Marvin Vettori joined Kings MMA in 2015. Vettori is known to organize his training camps at Kings MMA when he’s in the US, besides also training at Stabile Fight Team in his native Italy.
Years after meeting Rafael dos Anjos, Marvin Vettori is now himself on the cusp of a UFC middleweight title shot
Akin to his upcoming fight, Marvin Vettori’s previous fight too was in the UFC's main event spot. It witnessed him announce his arrival among the elite in the UFC middleweight division.
Marvin Vettori picked up the biggest win of his career in that fight as he defeated Jack Hermansson via unanimous decision at UFC on ESPN: Hermansson vs. Vettori (December 2020).
Presently, Marvin Vettori is scheduled to fight Kevin Holland in a five-round middleweight bout that’ll headline UFC Vegas 23 (April 10th, 2021). The consensus is that an impressive performance against fan-favorite Kevin Holland could earn Vettori another main event booking or perhaps even a UFC middleweight title shot in his next fight.
Meanwhile, former UFC lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos has been lobbying for a fight against former interim UFC lightweight champion Justin Gaethje.