Like Derek Brunson before him, Marvin Vettori took aim at Kevin Holland’s takedown defence and grappling and emerged from the main event of UFC Vegas 23 with the same result.

Despite Holland impressively returning to the octagon mere weeks after challenging Brunson, Vettori secured a 50-44, 50-44, 50-44 unanimous decision, taking all five rounds on the judges scorecards.

Vettori was once again the bigger fighter and he used his weight advantage  in the clinch to steer Holland towards the ground and keep him there for large stretches of each round.

The similar result forces Holland, currently ranked No. 10, to go back to the drawing board.

While the victory likely won’t catapult Vettori into an immediate title shot, he may leapfrog his orginal but currently injured opponent Darren Till and secure his No. 5 ranking. In the post-fight press conference, Vettori called out the man who has a split-decision victory over him, current champion Israel Adesanya.

Sam Alvey and Juan Marquez secured Fight of the Night, while Mackenzie Dern and Mateusz Gamrot earned Performance of the Night. Each fighter earned a $50,000 USD bonus.

Kenai Andrews checks in with his thoughts on the main card.

In case you missed the prelims:

IMPA KASANGANY DEF. SASHA PALATNIKOV VIA SUBMISSION (RNC) R2 0:26

DA UN JUNG DEF. WILLIAM KNIGHT VIA UD (30-26, 30-26, 30-27)

LUIS SALDANA DEF. JORDAN GRIFFIN VIA UD (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

JACK SHORE DEF. HUNTER AZURE VIA SD (30-27, 28-29, 30-27)

JARJIS DANHO DEF. YORGAN DE CASTRO VIA KO (PUNCH) R1 3:02

JOHN MAKDESSI DEF. IGNACIO BAHAMONDES VIA SD (29-28, 28-29, 30-27)

MATEUSZ GAMROT DEF. SCOTT HOLTZMAN VIA KO (PUNCHES) R2 1:22

JOE SOLECKI DEF. JIM MILLER VIA UD (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)

MAIN CARD

MIKE PERRY VS. DANIEL RODRIGUEZ

WINNER: DANIEL RODRIGUEZ VIA UD (30-27, 30-27, 30-26)

ANDREWS PREDICTION: DANIEL RODRIGUEZ VIA UD 

Andrews: Rodriguez beat up Perry bad with that left hand. Is “Platinum” on the bubble?

#5 NINA NUNES VS. #11 MACKENZIE DERN

https://twitter.com/ufc/status/1380973824754212864?s=20

WINNER: MACKENZIE DERN VIA SUBMISSION (ARMBAR) R1 4:48

ANDREWS PREDICTION: NINA NUNES VIA UD

Andrews: Wow! I thought training with her partner Amanda would give Nunes what she needed, but Dern used some striking and then dragged her down and got the tap. Hats off to the improving Mackenzie.

SAM ALVEY VS. JUAN MARQUEZ

WINNER: JUAN MARQUEZ VIA TECH SUBMISSION (RNC) R2 2:07

ANDREWS PREDICTION: JUAN MARQUEZ VIA SUBMISSION

Andrews: Marquez was impressive, softened him up on the feet and then that choke. Alvey is on the bubble.

#10 ARNOLD ALLEN VS. #11 SODIQ YUSUFF 

WINNER: ARNOLD ALLEN VIA UD (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

ANDREWS PREDICTION: SODIQ YUSUFF VIA TKO

Andrews: Yusuff did well to go the distance, but Allen’s technical skills were on display.

MAIN EVENT 

#6 MARVIN VETTORI VS. #10 KEVIN HOLLAND 

WINNER: MARVIN VETTORI VIA UD (50-44, 50-44, 50-44)

ANDREWS PREDICTION: MARVIN VETTORI VIA UD 

Andrews: Credit to Holland for taking this fight on short notice, but he needs to bulk up and improve his takedown defence as the book is wide open on him in 2021.

The UFC returns to the UFC Apex next Saturday April 17 for UFC Vegas 24. Former middleweight champion and current No. 1 contender Robert Whittaker takes on No. 8 Kelvin Gastelum in the main event.

@kenaiandrews

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