Key Stats: 28.9% control time percentage (6th), 63.9% significant strike defense (3rd), 47.3% takedown accuracy (3rd)
What It Means: “The Italian Dream” is an aggressive, marauding fighter who likes to fight at a high pace. Vettori has solid boxing, particularly defensively, and he snuffs out his opponent’s offense with his pressure and constant pestering. He is a good grappler, and along the fence, he exhibits a good sense of leverage and strength. His cardio goes for days, so he can really lean on that to discourage his opponent over the course of five rounds.
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What to Look For in the Fight: One of the most intriguing parts of this fight is we rarely see either fighter move backward very often, and so how they respond to those moments is going to be telling. Vettori has the better gas tank and could utilize his grappling to wear Costa down and tamper the pressure, particularly early in the fight when Costa is most dangerous. However, Costa is rarely deterred and will stay in his opponent’s face no matter what’s coming his way. We haven’t seen either guy off his back much, so it’s hard to say what that dynamic will look like. On the feet, the boxing exchanges should be pretty electrifying. Vettori is defensively sound and does have power, but Costa is the clearer knockout threat.
