UFC Sacramento results: Marvin Vettori punishes Cezar Ferreira on the feet to earn decision win

MMAFIGHTING

Marvin Vettori was anxious to return to action and he made the most of his first fight back in 15 months.

The Italian middleweight showcased a dominant striking attack to batter Cezar Ferreira for 15 minutes before earning a lopsided unanimous decision win to kick off the main card from Sacramento. The judges all scored the fight 30-27 in favor of Vettori, who was definitely happy with his performance following the fight.

“I wanted to come in here and make a statement,” Vettori said after his win. “I’m back. I’m back for good.”

It was an aggressive strategy from Vettori from the first exchange of the fight as the Italian middleweight was pressing forward with punches in bunches throughout the opening round. Ferreira was more than happy to trade shots with him on the feet but as time ticked away it was clear Vettori was definitely getting the better of the exchanges.

Despite a very busy start, Vettori didn’t skip a beat going into round two as he continued to push forward while showing no signs of slowing down. Vettori was connecting with good accuracy and power with Ferreira backing up while trying to avoid taking any further damage.

Knowing he was likely down two rounds, Ferreira came out guns blazing in the third with a lot more willingness to stand in the pocket and just trade punches with Vettori on the feet. Ferreira managed to land a couple of solid shots but then Vettori began returning fire and once again he was connecting flush with virtually every punch thrown.

Vettori was still more than willing to engage with Ferreira late in the fight as he was still looking for the finish but he just couldn’t quite put the Brazilian away. Still after three rounds, Vettori had done more than enough to earn the victory on the judges scorecards.

It was a long road back for Vettori after dropping a split decision to Israel Adesanya in his last outing and then 15 months away partially because of a suspension from USADA due to what was believed to be a contaminated supplement.

With the win, Vettori is ready to jump right into the deep end of the middleweight division with hopes of facing one of the top prospects in the world right now at 185 pounds.

“I think Paulo Costa would be a very good fight,” Vettor said calling out the Brazilian, who is scheduled to face Yoel Romero at UFC 241. “Let’s do it. He don’t step back, I don’t step back, let’s do it.”