Marvin Vettori will turn Paulo Costa into a wrestler, claims manager

Ali Abdelaziz believes Marvin Vettori will not only beat but finish Paulo Costa in the main event of UFC Vegas 41.

Next Saturday night at the UFC Apex, Vettori is looking to get back into the win column after his decision loss to Israel Adesanya in June. Costa, meanwhile, has been off for over a year as he hasn’t competed since UFC 253 last September where he suffered a TKO loss to Adesanya. The fight is an intriguing one and many think it will be Vettori using his wrestling, yet for Abdelaziz, he says Vettori’s striking will turn Costa into a wrestler.

“The amount of volume he’s throwing, the amount of intensity he’s throwing, this is a new Marvin,” Abdelaziz told MMA Junkie about Vettori. “Marvin may have lost his last title fight, but he gained a lot of confidence. He knows he’s 27 years old – he’s still a kid. And I believe Costa is a tough fighter, but he will stop him in three rounds. Too much pressure, too much volume – I think we’re going to see Costa shooting.

“He’s going to try and wrestle Marvin because the amount of intensity he’s going to bring into the fight is insane, especially in a small cage,” Abdelaziz continued about Vettori-Costa. “I’m not just saying things to say things – I see it. Normally, the hard work you put in the gym is going to transfer to the cage, and I think we’re going to see a very, very great, fun fight. (I predict) Marvin by stoppage, under three rounds.”

Costa is known for his standup and doesn’t wrestle much, so if Vettori is having that much success on the feet to force the Brazilian to wrestle, the fight will be going well for him.

Although Marvin Vettori’s last two wins and four of his last five are by decision, he does have the ground game to pull off a submission. Yet, Costa has proven to be durable throughout his career so it will be interesting to see if the Italian will be able to pull off a stoppage win and force Costa into wrestling.

Do you think Marvin Vettori will finish Paulo Costa?