Sean Strickland: 'Dumb' Marvin Vettori has all the potential in the world, but 'just needs better voices'

Sean Strickland gave Marvin Vettori some tough love after his UFC on ESPN 46 loss.

Vettori (19-7-1 MMA, 9-5-1 UFC) absorbed a middleweight record amount of strikes in a Fight of the Night decision loss to Jared Cannonier (17-6 MMA, 10-6 UFC) this past Saturday at the UFC Apex. He was able to wobble Cannonier early, but went on to absorb tons of punishment in the fight.

Strickland, who’s trained with Vettori at Xtreme Couture, lauded him for his toughness, but thinks he needs better guidance.

“The problem with Marvin, you guys: Marvin’s dumb,” Strickland told The Schmo. “Marvin’s stupid. If I went to Marvin and he put me in a position of power and I said, ‘Marvin, I want you to stand on one leg, just for five days and I think you’re still gonna win the fight,’ he would stand there on one leg for five days and not move. I just think Marvin needs to find a better short bus driver.

“You know what I’m saying? Right now, he’s on that short bus, and the people driving the short bus, they’re taking him in bad directions. I think if Marvin could find a better special needs helper, it will put him in the right direction. Marvin is a tough guy, great cardio, a lot of heart, stupid as f*cking dirt, but he has all the potential in the world. He just needs better voices.”

Strickland (26-5 MMA, 13-5 UFC) will look to emerge as a title contender when he meets Abus Magomedov (25-4-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) on July 1 at a UFC Fight Night main event at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 46.