On several levels, Marvin Vettori’s first-round submission win seemed cathartic for “The Italian Dream.”
After originally expecting to fight in London on the postponed March card, Vettori’s first booking with Karl Roberson fell through when Roberson pulled out on fight day in May. A month’s worth of bad blood followed, and Vettori channeled that into a well-rounded – albeit short – performance in Las Vegas.
In the first few minutes, the two quietly engaged before Vettori got the fight down to the ground. Roberson defended his submission attempts well, but it wasn’t long before Vettori swarmed him with ground-and-pound strikes that led to a rear naked choke with less than a minute remaining. It was the kind of win Vettori was in search of and might put the Italian in position for a ranked opponent next.
