Marvin Vettori, Brendan Allen Rebooked for UFC 318 in New Orleans

What was once an interesting stylistic clash has become a bitter grudge match between two Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight contenders.

In April 2024, Marvin Vettori (19-8-1) and Brendan Allen (24-7) were expected to square off in the main attraction of UFC Fight Night 240. When Vettori sustained an injury less than a month before the event, Chris Curtis stepped in and ultimately came up short in his rematch with Allen. Over a year later, the promotion has decided to match Vettori and Allen against one another again, with the middleweights now expect to square off at UFC 318 in New Orleans’ Smoothie King Center. The rebooked affair was first reported by MMA Mania on Wednesday and confirmed by multiple outlets.

Vettori will be entering this bout on his first losing streak as a professional, having dropped a pair of five-round unanimous verdicts to Jared Cannonier in 2023 and Roman Dolidze in 2025. The Italian has struggled since vying for the middleweight throne in 2021, coming up short to Israel Adesanya and only winning twice since. He has heard the final horn in his last eight outings, with six of those being 25-minute affairs.

“All In” Allen is also coming into this matchup on the only two-fight skid of his career, with decision losses to Nassourdine Imavov and Anthony Hernandez throwing cold water on his immediate title aspirations. Before the defeat to Imavov, Allen had rattled off seven straight victories, including four rear-naked chokes, over the likes of grapplers Paul Craig and Andre Muniz.

When their first pairing was canceled, the two continued to feud with one another. Their hostilities spilled over when they ran into one another at the Hard Rock Live in Florida during 2024 PFL Playoffs 2 in 2024, resulting in the two middleweights trading punches on the casino floor. They will compete at an event which only has two other bouts officially on the books: a welterweight scrap pitting Adam Fugitt against Islam Dulatov after their first try fell apart in February, and the main event of Max Holloway vs. Dustin Poirier 3.