Vettori submits Roberson in 1st round at UFC Fight Night

After months of building frustration, Marvin Vettori unleashed his anger Saturday night on Karl Roberson.

Vettori finished "Baby K" with a rear-naked choke at 4:17 of the first round in the UFC Fight Night co-main event in Las Vegas.

It was an action-packed affair, with the two trading shots on the feet in the opening few minutes. However, Vettori proved too well-rounded for Roberson, getting him down to the mat in the second half of the opening frame. Vettori fended off a brief submission attempt from Roberson and tried multiple attacks of his own, including a guillotine.

Roberson's defense held up for a few moments but Vettori got into top position and began landing vicious ground-and-pound. He then switched his position and locked in a rear-naked choke, forcing Roberson to tap.

There was serious bad blood between Vettori and Roberson ahead of the fight. They were scheduled to meet May 13 in Jacksonville but Roberson missed weight and the bout was later canceled when the 29-year-old was hospitalized. That was the third time in 2020 that Vettori had a fight canceled.

The two were then involved in a verbal altercation the next day at the host hotel.

Roberson missed weight again Friday, coming in 4.5 pounds over the middleweight limit.

Vettori extended his winning streak to three with Saturday's victory. This marked his first stoppage win since his UFC debut in August 2016. The 26-year-old hasn't fallen short since he took current middleweight champion Israel Adesanya to a split decision in April 2018.

Roberson, who made a name for himself on "Dana White's Contender Series" in 2017, saw his two-fight winning streak come to an end.