UFC Fight Night predictions — Paulo Costa vs. Marvin Vettori: Fight card, odds, start time, live stream

Saturday’s UFC Struggle Evening essential occasion between Paulo Costa and Marvin Vettori took just a few odd twists and turns within the days forward of the bout. At Wednesday’s media day in Las Vegas, Costa introduced he was 211 kilos and could be unable to chop to the middleweight restrict of 185 kilos. Negotiations over the load then drifted to 190, 195, 198, and finally, 205 kilos, with Vettori accepting each change alongside the way in which.

“So mainly, I got here in, able to make weight, able to make 185 as all the time,” Vettori mentioned in an Instagram video. “I got here in and slightly bit after, they instructed me Costa is obese. First, they wished to do 190, and 190 wasn’t sufficient so 195 then 198, after which 198 was good for some time, we signed a contract for 195 after which he says 195 he cannot make it. So we’re as much as 205.”

It is an odd state of affairs for the 2 former middleweight title challengers however one which displays a number of the struggles Costa has confronted lately. After struggling a knockout loss in a one-sided combat with champion Israel Adesanya, Costa claimed he drank an excessive amount of wine the evening earlier than the combat and was coping with a hangover when he suffered his first profession loss. He then pulled out of a combat with Robert Whittaker attributable to sickness and withdrew from a deliberate combat with Jared Cannonier, claiming he by no means signed the bout settlement whereas tweeting, “UFC must pay me as essential fighter to have preventing in essential occasions. Youtubers are exhibiting all shame on this enterprise.”

Throughout combat week, Costa additionally claimed to have battled COVID-19 twice for the reason that begin of the pandemic whereas stating he would proceed refusing to take the vaccine.

Vettori can be coming off a loss to Adesanya, although he managed to get to the judges’ scorecards in his shot on the championship. The loss snapped a five-fight successful streak for Vettori, a streak that dated again to a different determination loss to Adesanya.

This is the combat card for UFC Struggle Evening with the newest odds from Ceasars Sportsbook.

UFC Struggle Evening card, odds

UFC Struggle Evening viewing data

Date: Oct. 23 | Begin time: 4 p.m. ET
Location: UFC Apex — Las Vegas, Nevada
TV Channel: ESPN+

Prediction

Marvin Vettori vs. Paulo Costa: What a bizarre state of affairs that is. Vettori looks like the fitting choose simply primarily based on Costa seeming to not be proper mentally for the reason that Adesanya combat. That mentioned, Costa has all the time been an enormous middleweight and now could be getting into the combat as a light-weight heavyweight, seemingly by no means having deliberate on slicing weight, whereas Vettori was taking all wanted steps to get right down to 185 kilos. That weight could possibly be an enormous consider Costa discovering success, or may result in him gassing out rapidly. It is nonetheless in all probability the most secure choose to go together with Vettori primarily based on the psychological recreation and having a grinding model that would burn out Costa’s iffy cardio. Choose: Marvin Vettori by way of UD