UFC president Dana White says Italy’s Marvin Vettori has earned the right to serve as backup for the upcoming middleweight title rematch between Israel Adesanya and Robert Whittaker following his impressive unanimous decision victory over Paulo Costa at the weekend.
“It absolutely makes sense for him to be the backup,” White said of Vettori in a recent interview with TMZ Sports (h/t BJPenn.com).
White is obviously impressed with the fact that Vettori not only beat Costa but did so at 205-pounds. ‘The Italian Dream’ had no problem fighting ‘Borrachinha’ at light heavyweight at the last minute despite both men originally agreeing to fight at 185-pounds.