UFC Paris: Vettori and Whittaker hoping to secure title shot
Marvin Vettori and Robert Whittaker head into UFC Paris with their sights firmly set on securing a shot at the middleweight title.
The pair have each previously fought current champion Israel Adesanya on two occasions, and neither fighter has been able to record a victory.
While both fighters still have plenty of time to fulfil their title dreams, they can ill-afford to suffer another defeat this weekend.
The latest UFC betting ranks Whittaker as the favourite to emerge victorious, but there are plenty of reasons to believe his opponent offers better value.
The 28-year-old is one of the most successful MMA fighters to come out of Italy and is the first from his country to headline a UFC card.
He came up short in his bid to become middleweight champion at UFC 263, but showed enough against Adesanya to suggest he can trouble Whittaker.
Vettori produced an impressive performance in his last fight, securing a unanimous decision over Paulo Costa in October 2021.
The Italian fighter’s movement caused Costa plenty of problems and could have a similar impact when he goes head-to-head with Whittaker.
That fight saw Vettori step up to light-heavyweight for the first time, but he claims he still has unfinished business at middleweight.
In a recent interview with Betway, he said: “It came to my mind to eventually move up to 205 and I think I would have really good chances to win the title.
“I started out at 185 and I’m going to win at 185 first and then we will see. It’s not in my plans for now (to step up) but we’ll see what happens.
Vettori will not find things easy against Whittaker, who was defeated by Adesanya at UFC 271 in his most recent outing back in February.
In fairness to the Australian he produced a better performance than in his first defeat against the champion, but the outcome was the same.
The 31-year-old has now lost six of his 29 fights as a professional and there were times against Adesanya where he looked a spent force.
A final round rally by Whittaker caused ‘The Last Stylebender’ few concerns and he secured a unanimous decision to retain his title.
Defeats of that nature eventually take their toll and Whittaker may find he has gone to the well once too often this weekend.
Vettori looked particularly impressive during the latter stages of the bout against Costa and could be too strong for Whittaker at UFC Paris.
The fight is be the co-main event of the night, with the clash between Ciryl Gane and Tai Tuivasa sharing joint top billing.
Gane is on a recovery mission after failing to win the undisputed heavyweight title against Francis Ngannou in January 2022.
Tuivasa has bounced back from losing three in row to win his last five contests, but could have his work cut out against the classy Gane.
The 32-year-old has been heavily backed to win on home soil and his superior footwork should prove too hot for his opponent to handle.
While Tuivasa has developed a reputation for being one of the most prolific knockout artists on the UFC roster, he is yet to face anyone with Gane’s ability.
UFC Paris – Main Card
Charles Jourdain vs Nathaniel Wood
Taylor Lapilus vs Khalid Taha
John Makdessi vs Nasrat Haqparast
Alessio Di Chirico vs Roman Kopylov
Robert Whittaker vs Marvin Vettori
Ciryl Gane vs Tai Tuivasa
