UFC Fight Night 254 headliner Marvin Vettori aiming for career resurgence after major surgery

LAS VEGAS – Former UFC title challenger Marvin Vettori returns to the octagon this Saturday after almost two years away from competition.

The last time Vettori (19-7-1 MMA, 9-5-1 UFC) was seen in the cage was back in June 2023 when he lost a unanimous decision to fellow veteran Jared Cannonier. Since that bout, a lot has changed for “The Italian Dream.” For starters, Vettori moved from Las Vegas to South Florida to train at American Top Team in Coconut Creek – which was a much-needed change for his career.

“I changed gyms because I felt I had to do something different – so yeah, I’m definitely not the same,” Vettori said at Wednesday’s UFC Fight Night 254 media day. “I found a home at ATT, and I’m happy that I’m representing them for the first time this time around. I’ve been there for a while, and it’s amazing, to be honest. A lot of growth. I’m going to show it. Talk is talk at the end of the day.”

Not long after, Vettori unfortunately suffered a bad shoulder injury. He tried recovering with just physical therapy, but the injury got worse. In June 2024, Vettori had to undergo surgery. It was a rough patch in his career.

“There were times when I was like, ‘F*ck, is it going to be back to normal?,’ because it takes so f*cking long,” Vettori explained. “The shoulder, man, every angle you have to train because otherwise you’d be good here, but out here is weak. I’m pretty stubborn, I’m able to get after it, but I had moments, I was like, ‘F*cking hell, is it going to be back to normal? Do I have to figure some other way to fight?’ But sure enough, people around you and doctors tell you that eventually you’ll see. People get injured all the time and come back. I was always trying to be opposite.”

Vettori headlines Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 254 (ESPN+) at the UFC Apex in a rematch against Roman Dolidze (14-3 MMA, 8-3 UFC), who’s on a two-fight winning streak.

Vettori is eager to return, and just wants to get the ball rolling again in his career. He’s 2-2 since challenging then champion Israel Adesanya for the UFC middleweight title. He’s not focused at rankings or title contention, just wants to return.

“I just see it as me getting back,” Vettori said regarding his fight against Dodlidze. “The rest is extra. That’s what I see, me getting back and feeling good, putting all the pieces together. It’s been a while. The rest is extra. We’ll see.”