Marvin Vettori grinds out tough win over Paulo Costa in a thriller at UFC Vegas 41 (Video)

Marvin Vettori’s octagon control, activity was the difference in his unanimous decision win over Paulo Costa.

Top UFC middleweight contenders Paulo Costa and Marvin Vettori put on an instant classic in the UFC Vegas 41 main event.

Costa’s cardio was quickly tested in the opening minutes of the fight. While he landed some hard low leg and body kicks to Vettori, his pace seemed to slow quickly after Round 1.

Costa opened up with a similar strategy in the second round, landing some hard kicks, including a big head kick that stumbled Vettori. Remarkably, Vettori was able to gain his composure and continue boxing Costa on the feet. Vettori then attempted to get the fight to the ground before Costa quickly transitioned back upward, before getting Vettori with an eye poke. Costa would then suffer a one-point deduction for the infraction.

Vettori started to grapple a bit more in the mid-rounds, landing some hard elbows that Costa was able to survive through. Costa continued to throw hard shots on the feet, but Vettori was able to dodge out of range.

Vettori’s boxing was a major component of the later rounds, as he utilized his jab and left hook to dismantle Costa. The two sluggers exchanged big blows over the final five minutes, but Vettori was awarded the unanimous decision victory.

Marvin Vettori outlasted Paulo Costa in a five-round war at UFC Vegas 41

It was quite a wild fight week ahead of UFC Vegas 41, which included multiple weight changes and unusual behavior by both Costa and Vettori. After the fight was originally scheduled to be at middleweight, Costa requested a catchweight of 205 pounds despite Vettori being on track to make 185.

Both Costa and Vettori were looking to get back on track in the middleweight division after both of them lost to the UFC champion, Israel Adesanya. The next title fight will be a rematch between Adesanya and former champion Robert Whittaker, but the winner of this fight could be next in line for another shot.

There was plenty of bad blood between Costa and Vettori after the weight-related issues throughout the week. It came to a climax as the two nearly brawled at their weigh-in faceoff.

With the win over Costa, Vettori could get another title shot against Adesanya sooner rather than later.

UFC Vegas 41 takes place on Saturday, Oct. 23, live from the UFC APEX in Las Vegas, NV. Follow along with FanSided MMA who will be on-site for all your news and highlights.