Born: Sept. 20, 1993 (Age: 29) in Mezzocorona, Italy
Division: Middleweight
Height: 6’0”
Reach: 74”
Record: 19-6-1 (9-4-1 UFC)
Association: Kings MMA
Stage of Career: Prime
Summary:
Vettori’s style is based on simplicity. While he does not do
anything fancy, he has proven proficient at almost all fundamental
aspects of fighting and shows no clear weaknesses. That is a
difficult combination to beat, which is why only the best UFC
middleweights have managed to do so. Vettori features competent but
unexceptional standup, with an average jab backed up by a solid
left cross and right book, both of which lack power. He can also
call upon a nice body kick. Vettori does everything well in the
grappling department, too, from well-timed technical shots and
effective top control to sound submissions and decent
ground-and-pound. Meanwhile, he excels on the defensive side of the
equation.
STRIKING
• Stance: Southpaw.
• Hand Speed: Slightly above average.
• Jab: He paws with it at times, but does connect with occasional
impact.
• Cross: Straight and sudden but lacks oomph.
• Right Hook: Thrown with a tight arc and generally accurate, but
it does not measure up in the power department.
• Overhand Left: Keeps it sheathed.
• Uppercuts: Does not use them.
• Solitary Striker or Volume Puncher: Fires punches in bunches but
mostly in a series of straights.
• Favorite Combination(s): The one-two, which lacks power despite
its effectiveness.
• Leg Kicks: While powerful, he loads up on them so heavily that
they are telegraphed and easy to avoid. He does not help himself by
throwing too much off the back foot and appearing off-balance at
times.
• Body Kicks: Just as heavy as his leg kicks but better
disguised.
• Head Kicks: Does not utilize them.
• Chains Kicks to Punches: Shows the ability to fire a leg kick at
the end of his punches at times.
Vettori’s striking can best be described as competent. He tends
to paw with his jab, and while he throws a left cross and right
hook with sound properties, both punches lack power. Vettori
generally sticks to those three punches. Despite his muscular
physique, his hand speed rates just a little above average. He
often throws more than one shot at a time, even if they end up
being a series of straights. Vettori features heavy leg kicks, but
they are often telegraphed due to his tendency to load up on them.
His body kicks are an underrated part of his game. Vettori has
proven to be defensively proficient, which makes him difficult to
outpoint in the standup department.
CLINCH
• Physical Strength: A massive, powerful middleweight.
• Technique: While nothing stands out, he has a strong grasp of the
fundamentals.
• Knees: Effective, especially when an opponent ducks his head in a
predictable manner.
• Elbows: Does not throw them.
• Defense Against Knees/Elbows: Stellar due to his ability to
secure takedowns in such scenarios.
Vettori has a strong clinch game at his disposal, as he has
proven adept at grinding for takedowns at close range.
Additionally, he features powerful knee strikes, particularly
against opponents with a predictable approach.
GRAPPLING
• Wrestling from a Shot: Shoots technical double- and single-legs,
backed by persistence. He can also time them in reaction to an
opponent’s strikes or succeed with them in a wild scramble.
• Wrestling in the Clinch: A fundamentally sound but less
consistent source of takedowns.
• Takedown Defense: Consistently stuffed takedowns from decent
wrestlers like
Andrew
Sanchez,
Jack
Hermansson and
Roman
Dolidze.
• Ability to Return to Feet: Fantastic at creating scrambles off
his back and excels at reversing position.
• Submissions: His guillotine features a solid squeeze but affords
opponents to much room to escape. Vettori can also lock in an
effective rear-naked choke with fewer holes. However, at his
current level, he cannot threaten as effectively.
• Defense/Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu from the Bottom: Difficult to say, as
he has not stayed on his back for long. Likely excellent, though,
since it feeds into his ability to create scrambles.
• Top Control: Controls wrists well and sticks to his opponents,
although he often allows them to get back to their feet when he
zeroes in on a guillotine or tries to open up with his
ground-and-pound.
• Ground-and-Pound: Features solid punches and can score to the
body and head. He can do real damage with a tight, short
elbow—easily his most dangerous blow in ground exchanges.
Vettori is a stout grappler who excels at landing takedowns from
a shot due to his proficiency and persistence with single- and
double-legs. Once on top, he offers solid submission skills, though
he has proven far less threatening against upper-echelon fighters.
It has become exceedingly difficult to gain advantages against
Vettori in this phase of the game. He leans on outstanding takedown
defense, and even if he concedes a takedown, he is fantastic at
creating scrambles off his back and reversing position.
INTANGIBLES
• Athleticism/General Physical Strength: Tremendously powerful with
average agility and dynamism.
• Cardio: Tends to slow down by the second round. However, he can
compete far more competently than most fighters when fatigued.
• Chin: Withstood a tremendous amount of punishment against
Robert
Whittaker and
Israel
Adesanya, neither of whom managed to finish him.
• Recuperative Powers: Recovered quickly when hurt against
Whittaker and Adesanya.
• Intelligence: Pursues the fight in areas that are most
advantageous for him and avoids tactical mistakes.