What did Marvin Vettori say in the post-fight interview following loss to Robert Whittaker at UFC Paris?
UFC Paris showcased the collision of two of the best active middleweights in the sport. After the fight against Robert Whittaker, Marvin Vettori took some time to share his thoughts on the contest.
Following his loss to 'The Reaper', Vettori took the mic from Michael Bisping and gave a passionate speech in his native tongue (Italian), but what did he say?
As reported by Luke Thomas, 'The Italian Dream' apologized to the fans, gave props to his "elite" opponent, and urged the viewers in attendance to show their support.
"Sorry guys, he was really an elite opponent. I love you all, make some noise even if I lost."
Here you go:
twitter.com/phre/status/15…
Both combatants came into this bout searching for a win to strengthen their claim to Israel Adesanya's middleweight throne. Now, Whittaker must wait for Israel Adesanya (who has already beaten Whittaker twice) to defend his title in November against Alex Pereira.
If Adesanya falls at the hands of 'Poatan', Whittaker would probably challenge for the belt. The Aussie has cause to anticipate a favorable outcome as Alex Pereira has bested the Nigerian-born UFC champion twice in kickboxing.
Marvin Vettori will have to go back to the drawing board and make another strong comeback, as he has done on multiple occasions before. Though he will not fall far down the pecking order, he will need a handful of wins before he puts himself in a position to fight for the title.
Check out the Italian's passionate and heartfelt post-fight speech in the video below:
What does this loss mean for Marvin Vettori?
Marvin Vettori is likely to drop one or two places in the middleweight division rankings following his unanimous decision loss to Robert Whittaker, so what will be next for him?
There are multiple options ahead for the European and a string of wins could see him slide right back at the apex of the division.
After Sean Strickland was forced to pull out of his upcoming bout, a fresh matchup at middleweight could see Marvin Vettori step in and face Jared Cannonier near the end of the year or early 2023. Another potential brawl for the young 185-pounder could be the surging Brazilian submission specialist, Andre Muniz.