UFC 318 Preview and Prediction: Marvin Vettori – Brendan Allen

On the prelims of UFC 318, we are going to see a matchup between two ranked middleweights who have a lot of bad blood between them. Former title challenger and 10th ranked middleweight Marvin Vettori (19-7-1) will be taking on 11th ranked Brendan Allen (24-7).

Considering the bad blood, their rankings, and the fact that Allen is a Louisiana native, I’m stunned by the placement of this matchup. Not only is this fight not on the PPV main card, but it’s not even the featured prelim on ESPN. There’s no universe where this fight shouldn’t have at least been given the featured prelim spot.

Nevertheless, this fight is big for both men. As mentioned, there’s a lot of bad blood between the two after they had a brawl in the middle of a casino. Now, they will get to settle the score once and for all at UFC 318. Both men are also carrying losing streaks into the octagon so this fight is a must-win for both men.

From July 2019 to April 2021, Marvin Vettori won five straight to earn a shot at the middleweight title. However, since that middleweight title loss to Israel Adesanya, Vettori is just 2-3 in his last five fights. The last time we saw him was back in March where he lost a decision to Roman Dolidze.

From the start of 2022 until April of last year, Brendan Allen won seven straight inside the octagon. That led him to UFC Paris where he faced Nassourdine Imavov and he lost by decision. In February, he had a rematch with Anthony Hernandez and again, he lost a decision. Now, he really needs a win to avoid a third straight loss.

UFC 318 Prediction

For the most part, I know what to expect from Marvin Vettori. He might not be elite at one thing, but he’s very well-rounded and can hold his own wherever a fight goes. If they are striking, he’s shown the ability at times to do well on the feet. We know he can take a helluva shot. He’s a better grappler than striker, but again, nothing is really elite.

Brendan Allen is a frustrating fighter to follow. On pure potential and talent, he’s the better fighter. I think he’s better as a grappler and he’s shown better striking as well. However, in his last two fights, he’s just seemed flat. Even in his win against Chris Curtis back in April of last year, he didn’t look great and that doesn’t give me confidence heading into UFC 318.

Perhaps the bad blood really has him dialed in and maybe he’s motivated to be fighting in Louisiana. However, I really don’t know what Brendan Allen we are going to get. I don’t know if we are going to get the guy who finished five out of six fights or if we are going to get the guy who has lost two in a row.

While there’s a lot of bad blood here, I think we are going to see a lot of clinching and grappling. Cage control is going to play a big factor as well as cardio. I think both of those favor Marvin Vettori if I’m being honest. I think that Brendan Allen should win this fight on paper, but I can’t shake this feeling that Marvin Vettori is going to win a decision at UFC 318.

Prediction: Marvin Vettori by Decision