Vettori Opens As Betting Favorite Over Hermansson

In case you missed the news over the weekend, which may have gotten lost in the shuffle thanks to UFC Vegas 15 and the Mike Tyson vs. Roy Jones Jr. pay-per-view (PPV), middleweight up-and-comer Kevin Holland tested positive for COVID-19 and has been yanked from this weekend’s main event.

Taking over for him is No. 13-ranked Marvin Vettori, who was pulled from his Jacare Souza fight at UFC 256 and slotted to face “The Joker” in the UFC Vegas 16 main event on Sat. night (Dec. 5, 2020) inside APEX facility in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Vettori (15-4-1), perhaps best known for nearly edging out Israel Adesanya at UFC on FOX 29, opened as the odds-on betting favorite at -135, according to Best Fight Odds, against +115 for Hermansson (21-5), who is coming off a submission win over Kelvin Gastelum.

“Years of sweat, blood and tears and it all comes down to big opportunities like this,” Vettori wrote on Instagram. “Thank you Mick Maynard for the call. I’m ready for five rounds of war and I expect none of the less back. Italy will have a UFC world champion and one week from now we’ll show the world that it will happen.”

To see the revised UFC Vegas 16 fight card and lineup click here.