Marvin Vettori Can't Stomach His Own Tape Before UFC 332 Return

Marvin Vettori can't bring himself to rewatch his own fights, and when you're riding a career-worst four-fight losing streak, that's an understandable instinct. The former middleweight title challenger returns Saturday at UFC 332 in Salt Lake City against Ismail Naurdiev, chasing his first win since he outpointed Roman Dolidze back in March 2023.

Vettori didn't sugarcoat it. He told MMA Fighting he looks terrible on tape — stiff, timid, unable to throw a straight right without losing his balance. He gives the Jared Cannonier loss a pass, chalking it up to a smart game plan, but says his last three defeats were essentially gifts to his opponents. His most recent outing was a unanimous-decision loss to Brunno Ferreira at UFC 323 in December.

The Record Still Holds a Positive

Here's the strange part of Vettori's slide: nobody's actually finished him. For all the frustration, he's still durable enough to go the distance against anyone, and he's collected Fight of the Night bonuses in two of his last four losses. The checks come, the war stories pile up — but the L column keeps growing all the same.

The Naurdiev matchup has a backstory. It was first scheduled for June, then scrapped when Vettori broke a rib. He also dealt with back trouble that required surgery to clear out a hernia — not hugely invasive, by his account, but enough to compromise him heading into his previous booking. He says he's never ducked a fight in his career and asked to rebook Naurdiev the moment he felt healthy. The opponent, he said, was fine with it.

To shake things up, Vettori relocated from Florida to California for this camp, betting that a new environment resets whatever's been broken. The goal hasn't shifted either. 'The Italian Dream' admits the belt is a long shot now, but insists he still believes he can get there — and that belief is the only reason he's still showing up.

A win over Naurdiev doesn't instantly rebuild a contender. It does, however, stop the bleeding and give Vettori a clean piece of tape he can actually sit through. After this stretch, that would count as progress.