What’s the story?
One of the most promising 155-pound prospects in the UFC today is JacksonWink prospect ‘Groovy’ Lando Vannata, who once upon a time gave current No. 2-ranked Tony ‘El Cucuy’ Ferguson a run for his money on short notice last year. Vannata is coming hot off of a Knockout Of The Year worthy win over John Makdessi, and recently stated in an interview (courtesy of BJ Penn.com) that he’d like to take another crack at ‘El Cucuy’ in the near future:
In case you didn’t now...
Ferguson was originally set to face off against Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC Fight Night back in July of last year, but after an injury he was replaced by Lando Vannata who would make his UFC debut against one of the baddest men on the planet at 155 pounds. Vannata had Ferguson rocked on numerous occasions throughout the contest, but Ferguson was able to capitalize on a position to lock in a D’Arce choke for the second round submission win.
The heart of the matter:
Here’s what Vannata had to say about wanting to face off against Ferguson again down the line:
“F*ck yeah,” Vannata said when asked if he wanted to rematch Ferguson in the future. “That’s one that I try not to hold onto anything or keep that brick in my pocket, but yeah, it’s one I want to get back in the future.
“I’m going to keep climbing up the rankings, and in time, me and Tony are going to meet again and it’s going to make for a good story – I can’t f*cking wait for the day.”
What’s next?
Vannata currently is awaiting to be booked for another fight after his spectacular win over Makdessi, while Ferguson prepares to finally lock horns with Nurmagomedov in March. If Nurmagomedov once again is halted by injuries, however, it’s not too far of a stretch to believe that Vannata could step in as a late notice replacement once again.
Sportskeeda’s take:
‘Groovy’ is an extremely talented lightweight who has a very bright future ahead of him, and proved he can match-up well with the best the division has to offer in his bout with Ferguson. If he is able to propel himself into the top five win another impressive string of wins, we may have a future title contender on our hands.
