LAS VEGAS — One of the most interesting fight weeks of 2021 will come to its conclusion tonight, as Paulo Costa takes on Marvin Vettori in a light heavyweight bout at UFC Fight Night inside the Apex.
This fight, of course, was supposed to take place at 185 pounds and have a major impact on the middleweight division. Instead, it turned into a puzzling chain of events, as Costa (13-1) essentially said he did not intend to cut the weight.
Vettori (17-4-1) eventually accepted a light heavyweight matchup — and 20% of Costa’s purse.
Regardless of the changes, this main event looks like an entertaining one on paper. And it’s important for both combatants, as each is coming off a loss to defending middleweight champion Israel Adesanya in these fighters’ most recent performances.
Follow along with Brett Okamoto and Jeff Wagenheim as they provide fight-by-fight recaps and analysis, and/or watch the fights on ESPN+.
Fight in progress:
Strawweight: Livinha Souza (14-3, 3-2 UFC;-130) vs. Randa Markos (10-12-1, 6-10-1 UFC; +110)
Men’s bantamweight: Jonathan Martinez (14-4, 5-3 UFC) def. Zviad Lazishvili (13-1, 0-1 UFC) by unanimous decision | Watch this fight on ESPN+
Martinez welcomed Lazishvili, a previously undefeated fighter from Georgia, to the UFC by handing him his first career defeat — taking control of a close fight in Round 3 to secure the judges’ nod on all three scorecards (30-27, 29-28, 29-28).
Martinez, who is 27 and fights out of Plainview, Texas, got back on track after being knocked out by Davey Grant in May.
Still to come:
Light heavyweight: Paulo Costa (13-1, 5-1 UFC; +150) vs. Marvin Vettori (17-5-1, 7-3-1 UFC; -175)
Lightweight: Grant Dawson (17-1, 5-0 UFC; -470) vs. Ricky Glenn (22-6-1, 4-3 UFC; +360)
Women’s bantamweight: Jessica-Rose Clark (10-6, 3-2 UFC; -160) vs. Joselyne Edwards (10-3, 1-1 UFC; +135)
Men’s featherweight: Alex Caceres (18-12, 12-10 1 NC; +230) vs. Seungwoo Choi (10-3, 3-2 UFC; -280)
Welterweight: Dwight Grant (11-3, 3-2 UFC; +115) vs. Francisco Trinaldo (26-8, 16-7 UFC; -135)
Light heavyweight: Nicolae Negumereanu (10-1, 1-1 UFC; -230) vs. Ike Villanueva (18-12, 1-3 UFC; +190)
Middleweight: Junyong Park (13-4, 3-1 UFC; +100) vs. Gregory Rodrigues (10-3, 1-0 UFC; -120)
Lightweight: David Onama (8-0, 0-0 UFC; +340) vs. Mason Jones (10-1,1 NC; 0-1, 1 NC UFC; -440)
Strawweight: Tabatha Ricci (5-1, 0-1 UFC; -240) vs. Maria Oliveira (12-4, 0-0 UFC; +200)
Middleweight: Jamie Pickett (11-6, 0-2 UFC; +200) vs. Laureano Staropoli (9-4, 2-3 UFC; -240)
Lightweight: Khama Worthy (16-8, 2-2 UFC; +155) vs. Jai Herbert (10-3, 0-2 UFC; -180)
Men’s flyweight: Jeff Molina (9-2, 1-0 UFC; -165) vs. Daniel Lacerda (11-1, 0-0 UFC; +140)