With Omari Akhmedov out of his fight with Marvin Vettori, the Italian fighter is getting an upgrade.
Vettori (15-3-1) was originally supposed to meet Akhmedov at UFC 256 on December 12. The date will stay the same, but instead, he’ll be fighting Brazilian veteran Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza (26-8, 1NC).
The Scramble MMA show, which is hosted by Vettori’s trainer Emanuele Lochner, first announced the news. It’s great news for Vettori, who has long campaigned for a higher caliber of opponent, and who had multiple fights fall through earlier this year.
“The Italian Dream” was supposed to fight in March, at the doomed UFC London card. He was then booked for a fight with Karl Roberson in both April and May, only for both those dates to fall through. Eventually the pair met in June, but not before a widely publicized hotel confrontation where an irate Vettori berated his opponent for pulling out of UFC Jacksonville.
Vettori defeated Roberson with ease when they finally did throw down.
Jacare Souza last fought at light heavyweight, in a failed attempt at moving up a division. Jan Blachowicz put those plans to rest rather quickly. It’s back to 185lb for the Vettori fight as a result. Overall, Jacare has lost his last two bouts, and is 2-4 in his past six fights.
