Can Vettori even beat Brunson

[Joseph_McBride]

Vettori has much better cardio and his grappling is good enough to stop Brunson's TDs. He would keep it standing and pick Derek apart.

Striking and cardio are on Vettori's side for sure.

Easy decision win IMO.

Chin as well

 

[Huligani]

Definitely. I wouldn't be surprised if he outwrestled Brunson, his striking is exponentially better and his cardio is infinitely better (Brunson ALWAYS gasses late in round 2 or in round 3, it's amazing). Derek Brunson is the definitive gatekeeper, Vettori skipped over the mandatory Derek Brunson test but I have no doubt he'd pass it (and he has already beaten someone higher ranked).

the thing that always held him back was his fight IQ and he's greatly improved that in the last 4-5 years.

No, the main things that hold him back are cardio and skills. I can only think of one fight where fight IQ cost him, and it was the Whittaker fight. Brunson is the definitive gatekeeper - always top 10, but never good enough to get a title shot. Anyone who beats him fights for the title. He always gasses late in round 2 or in round 3, and his chin-up striking style with his lacking fundamentals combined with his poor cardio will never allow him to beat top guys.

 

[Steve Fox]

Brunson 2.0 is a mean motherfucker with a gameplan. With this being said, no.. Vettori can't beat Brunson.

 

[NoBiasJustMMA]

Definitely. I wouldn't be surprised if he outwrestled Brunson, his striking is exponentially better and his cardio is infinitely better (Brunson ALWAYS gasses late in round 2 or in round 3, it's amazing). Derek Brunson is the definitive gatekeeper, Vettori skipped over the mandatory Derek Brunson test but I have no doubt he'd pass it (and he has already beaten someone higher ranked).



No, the main things that hold him back are cardio and skills. I can only think of one fight where fight IQ cost him, and it was the Whittaker fight. Brunson is the definitive gatekeeper - always top 10, but never good enough to get a title shot. Anyone who beats him fights for the title. He always gasses late in round 2 or in round 3, and his chin-up striking style with his lacking fundamentals combined with his poor cardio will never allow him to beat top guys.

He fought like an idiot against Isreal and Jacare. Part of fight IQ is knowing how and when to close distance and he has improved a lot in that area. The only fight he ever lost due to cardio that I can think of is the Romero fight when he gassed after out wrestling Romero for 2 rounds and couldn't keep him down in the third.

 

[Carrotman23]

He'd destroy Brunson hilarious that some people think otherwise

 

[Verderglen23]

I'm going with Brunson. Very polished middleweight and on a tear himself at this point

 

[Paynebringer]

Vettori is a Big Sturdy Italian boy that can fight mma take a punch, give a punch fighter. I would lean Brunson but I can see me flip that easy on a vibe.

 

[TriangleMonkey]

Vettori vs Brunson is a fight I could totally skip for reals

 

[Huligani]

He fought like an idiot against Isreal and Jacare. Part of fight IQ is knowing how and when to close distance and he has improved a lot in that area. The only fight he ever lost due to cardio that I can think of is the Romero fight when he gassed after out wrestling Romero for 2 rounds and couldn't keep him down in the third.

You're right about the Adesanya fight, don't remember anything about the Jacare fight besides him getting headkicked. The one thing I'll say is that while his cardio often doesn't result in him losing fights, the fact that he's always gassed by round 3 will still prevent him from beating top guys, especially in 5 round fights.

 

[Enigma87]

Lol. Saying that like Brunson is a can. He’s gotten a lot better lately and has much better fight iq

 

[Last Falconry]

I would hate to watch that fight, but I feel like you should have to beat Brunson before you are eligible for a title shot. Like when guys used to have to prove they could kill a lion by themselves or whatever to become a man, only way less badass

 

[JSN]

I would favor Vettori by a decent margin. When Vettori is the better striker, he looks really good. He looked like a worldbeater against Jack. It’s the fights where he has to take it to the ground where I have question marks about his ceiling.

 

[Joseph Alfano]

Lol would love to see him try slug it out with Whittaker.

Not to take away from Robs obvious skill but hes hittable and has been dropped/rocked in all of his in recent memory

 

[NoBiasJustMMA]

You're right about the Adesanya fight, don't remember anything about the Jacare fight besides him getting headkicked. The one thing I'll say is that while his cardio often doesn't result in him losing fights, the fact that he's always gassed by round 3 will still prevent him from beating top guys, especially in 5 round fights.

His cardio has looked better to me too though from what I can tell a lot of that is from him making better decisions on when to go for takedowns, the clinch or strike. I feel like that is where he has improved the most. I wouldn't favor him over Isreal or Whittaker but I think he beats most everyone else or at least has like a 40% chance of winning or more.

I can sort of agree with you about the cardio but I don't think his cardio will be that big of a factor except against a few guys like Whittaker, Israel and Vettori who can push a faster pace that he might not be able to takedown or control.

Brunson vs Vettori or Brunson vs Cannonier seem like good fights.

 

[JonJonesNeedle]

Yes Vettori can beat Brunson but it's not a guarantee. The thing with Vettori is that he is still very young, only 27 years old, whereas everyone else is at or near their prime, or have been through wars. I think Vettori can still improve.

Vettori's worst stylistic matchup is Whittaker for sure. Cannonier would be a very tough test as well. Otherwise Vettori has a good shot against anyone else and has a decent skillset and 5 rounds of cardio.

 

[Safton]

I would favor Vettori ever so slightly due primarily to his chin, volume, and gas tank.

I think the two would probably cancel each other out in the grappling department. Brunson's TDD is stupidly good, as is Marvin's. Derek has never been submitted. So the fight probably stays on the feet.

Brunson I think tends to be a bit more consistently powerful when throwing, though Vettori's hands have looked slightly heavier in his last two fights. He hurt Jack bad and had Holland stung here and there early in their bout. Overall he's a volume guy, though. When it comes to boxing technique... I would definitely lean Marvin here with some caveats. Some say Brunson has improved in this area (primarily his discipline and composure) since going to Sanford, while others claim his striking has been neglected to the betterment of his wrestling and thus the standup has suffered for it. I'm on the fence. He certainly doesn't seem to employ it quite as much as he used to, though he did strike quite a bit with Edmen. Conversely, Vettori tends to leave his chin up in the air and throw from the shoulder despite impressing me with some of his pocket exchanges and head movement.

Hard to call, but I feel like the two would go out and try to take each other down, fail, exchange in the clinch repeatedly, and then transition to a shitty boxing match for the rest of the fight. Brunson probably lands some hard shots on the Italian and possibly rocks him early, but I feel like Marvin's cardio and chin would allow him to melt the veteran with volume punching and maybe some dirty boxing as they enter the later rounds and Brunson's gas tank drains.

 

[Argonaut]

Vettori is young and technical in all areas of the game. He fared better than Brunson in the standup with Holland. I see their wrestling negating each other and I see Vettori winning on the feet. Either a UD or tko for Vettori. Both could win, but Vettori's chin seems to hold up much more.

 

[theaustrianoak]

you say even beat Brunson as if he's a bad fighter, though he's arguably top 3 in the division right now