Marvin Vettori was in a no-win situation on Saturday. After his initial opponent, Darren Till, dropped out of the main event of UFC Vegas 23 with a broken collarbone, the best Vettori could hope for was to hold on to his spot in the middleweight rankings against Tills replacement, Kevin Holland.
Vettori, who was the No. 6 ranked fighter in the official 185-pound UFC rankings, overwhelmed Holland. Vettori used his wrestling skills and top game to exploit the weaknesses of his No. 10 ranked opponent.
Vettori set a UFC middleweight record with 11 takedowns in the 25-minute matchup, but it’s doubtful the win will get Vettori a rematch with UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya.