When Lando Vannata stepped in as a late replacement to fight Tony Ferguson, nobody gave him a shot. “Groovy” gave “El Cucuy” all he could handle. Vannata dropped Ferguson and almost finished him in the first round. He ended up getting submitted in the second round, but “Groovy’s” performance was eye-opening.
Vannata was given John Makdessi as his second opponent inside the Octagon. He had what many consider to be the “Knockout of the Year” in 2016. He knocked his opponent out cold with a wheel kick in the first round. Vannata spoke to Flo Combat and told them he was happy to get his first UFC victory:
“Getting my first win meant a lot to me, but one thing it meant was that I silenced all the doubters. After coming in against Tony [Ferguson] on two weeks’ notice and putting it to him like I did, one of the biggest things for me was going out there and showing the world what I’m really capable of, and yeah, it turned out to be a really good night.”
The next stop for Vannata is UFC 209. His opponent will be David Teymur. “Groovy” feels he will walk out of the T-Mobile Arena with his 10th career win.
“I told them I wanted to fight on March 4, UFC 209, and I gave them a list of opponents. They said they would see what they could do, and I got the fight. It’s a secret who else was on the list, but Teymur was on it. I think I’ll definitely beat this guy. He’s a good striker, but I think he’s overconfident in his striking.”
Vannata is currently unranked, but that could change very soon. As he works his way up the 155-pound division, “Groovy” has one fight he’d love to get back.
“F**k yeah (in regards to a rematch with Ferguson). That’s one that, err, 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**king wait for the day.”
