The UFC headed back to the Apex for a great fight night event UFC Vegas 75 which saw Marvin Vettori get beaten up pretty badly in a very tough but entertaining fight against top contender Jared Cannonier.

Marvin Vettori early on looked like he was going to finish Jared Cannonier in the first round. He landed a heavy left hand that rocked Cannonier and had him retreating in the opening moments but he was able to get his wits among him and battle back into the first round. After that it was Cannonier all fight, it was like he was possessed after getting hurt in that first round and it just changed his demeanor and the way he fought in rounds 2-5.

He never took a step back, always pushed forward, and never stopped putting the pressure on Vettori which was unfortunately too much for him. Vettori just took an absolute beating and absorbed the most shots in a single middleweight fight in UFC history, luckily for him his durability kept him in the fight throughout and he made it to the scorecards.

Now the question lies, what is next for the No. 4 ranked middleweight contender? We take a look at the potential matchups for “The Italian Dream” Marvin Vettori.

Loser between Robert Whittaker vs. Dricus Du Plessis

The No. 1 contender fight between Robert Whittaker and Dricus Du Plessis is happening in July. The winner gets to go and face off against the champ Israel Adesanya at UFC 293 in Syndey Australia on Sept. 10 but the loser will be in limbo wondering what is next. Well, a fight with Marvin Vettori would make the most sense as he is still a top-5 fighter in the middleweight division and either Whittaker or Du Plessis would be looking to get back into title contention and a top-5 win against Vettori puts them right back into the thick of things in the division.

Winner between Sean Strickland vs. Abus Magomedov

Sean Strickland is coming off a razor-close decision loss to Jared Cannonier the man who put a beating on Marvin Vettori. He now is taking on surging middleweight contender Abus Magomedov who the UFC is essentially trying to push up the rankings as he is currently unranked in the middleweight division. A win from either fighter would put them only 1-2 more wins away from a potential title shot and for them to get there Vettori would be there standing in their way.

Khamzat Chimaev

Khamzat Chimaev will be linked to every top middleweight contender because of the hype surrounding his return to the octagon. The UFC is chomping at the bit to get him a fight at the top of the division so they can give him a potential title fight in the near future. In order for that to happen he needs a win over a respectable opponent and being that Marvin Vettori is a top-5 middleweight contender and former title challenger it is the right fight to make for Chimaev to show what he's got at the top of the division and for Vettori to show that he's still one of the best at 185 lbs.