Watch: Marvin Vettori does a hard grappling session ahead of blockbuster clash with Paulo Costa
If it wasn’t clear before, Marvin Vettori is training pretty hard ahead of his upcoming showdown with fellow middleweight behemoth Paulo Costa.
Just a matter of months ago, Marvin Vettori was licking his wounds after being soundly beaten by UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya. Now, he’s preparing to get back into the octagon for a bout that has the potential to be a Fight of the Year frontrunner against Paulo Costa.
Everyone knows these two are amongst the scariest guys you could ever face at 185 pounds. However, it’s well known that Paulo Costa is more of a striking force than 'The Italian Dream'.
As such, Marvin Vettori knows that he needs to engage in some heavy grappling exchanges, which is probably why he’s practicing them so thoroughly.
Catch footage of Vettori's tough grappling session on the Italian's Instagram below:
Marvin Vettori vs. Paulo Costa: Two former title challengers collide
There are very few men on this planet, we’d imagine, who can take Paulo Costa down and keep him there. We’re talking about a physical specimen who only seems to have one mode, which is 'seek and destroy'.
If the Brazilian comes in with a smart gameplan he’ll likely be the favorite. However, if he thinks Marvin Vettori is just going to stand there and be dominated, 'The Eraser' is in for a nasty surprise on October 23.
Everyone made fun of Paulo Costa after his 'excuses' following the loss to Israel Adesanya last year. But in many ways, the same thing happened to Marvin Vettori. 'The Italian Dream' was overheard telling Adesanya that he thought he'd won their fight at UFC 263.
The truth is that nobody knows what kind of bout Costa vs. Vettori will be. However, one thing we do know for sure is this - they both need to do some serious work if they're going to restore their reputation.
Marvin Vettori can wrestle all he wants. But ultimately, if he's at all interested in winning back the fans, he may need to go down the 'stand and bang' route, at least for a while.