One day doesn’t go by without Luigi Vendramini thinking of it.
Vendramini can still see it. He ducked under a big Paddy Pimblett right, and connected on a beautiful leg kick. As Pimblett stood up, the two orthodox fighters threw big lefts. But only one landed. It was Vendramini’s, and it landed clean. Pimblett, the UFC’s fast-rising star, was buckled and suddenly on the retreat.
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Four-and-a-half years later, the punch stings Vendramini more than it does Pimblett. The YouTube video of their fight has over 11 million views – and perhaps Vendramini has played it over in his head more times than that.
Despite his defensive deficiency, Pimblett survived one of the cleanest shots Vendramini has ever landed – and eventually turned the tide to win by knockout.
“It’s crazy,” Vendramini recently told MMA Junkie. “Every day, I think about this.”
If only… Vendramini couldn’t change the course of history, not only of his own but of the entire sport. Pimblett didn’t lose until his recent interim title crack vs. Justin Gaethje. Meanwhile, the loss landed Vendramini his pink slip.
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“It hurt,” Vendramini said. “I worked so hard to be in the UFC. I didn’t feel like I showed my potential. I don’t feel like I did great. I did great fights with strong guys. I never lost to someone demoralizing. I took the top. My opponents, they beat me. But if you see all my fights, even when they win, the fight is very hard.”
Vendramini fought four times in the UFC from September 2018 to September 2021. He went 1-3 with a win over Jessin Ayari and losses to Pimblett, Fares Ziam, and Elizeu Zaleski Dos Santos. It was a tougher run than normal, and his strength of competition has aged well. However, Vendramini admits there were no consolations in his defeats. For months, he struggled to convince himself to build back.
“It was difficult,” Vendramini said. “I was in the gym after I went out of the UFC. I worked really hard for one year in the gym, kind of like, ‘I’m going to come back to the UFC’, and all these things. I stayed working very hard for one year. It was hard for me to come back for a fight because when you go out of the UFC, it’s hard to go to another show. You don’t want it. You want the best. You don’t want to go for another show. You have to fight in the UFC to understand this. When you fight in the UFC, you don’t want to try another thing. You just want another opportunity in the UFC. It’s crazy. The opportunity is crazy. It’s a dream.”
It took Vendramini nearly three years to return to the cage after the Pimblett loss, but eventually, he got the ball rolling. It’s been tough finding opponents, but since the start of 2024, Vendramini has fought and won four times. Each outing has ended in a first-round finish.
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Under the watchful eye of his father, black-belt Augusto Vendramini, and with some help from the coaching staff at Xtreme Couture, Vendramini thinks the improvements have been made. More than that? He’s grown up. If he learned anything from the Pimblett loss, it was that he needed to.
“I think the mindset is everything in the game,” Vendramini said. “It’s not about the technique. My father is my coach, and he says, ‘The game doesn’t change. It’s jabs, hooks, crosses, uppercuts, and double legs. It’s rear-naked chokes and guillotines. There isn’t a crazy skill that nobody knows. Between the guy who becomes champion and the guy that gets cut, it’s just a mindset.’ I swear, when I fought with Paddy, I didn’t think he was strong. During that four minutes I fought with him, I took stronger guys in the gym. The guy is a monster. The guy goes for the belt.
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“… The problem was that I arrived there young. Most of the fighters who get cut fast, they arrive there with a crazy, spectacular reputation. But when you arrive in the cage, you need to realize it’s just a normal fight. The problem is when you get to the UFC, and you think it’s a dream. I cannot explain to you. When you are inside the cage there, it is not a fight for you. It’s a dream. You feel like you’re in Disneyland. Then, when you check, someone is there to KO you. I cannot explain. It’s difficult. It’s like you’re in a different world. Sometimes I go inside the UFC, and I start to wake up in a fight in the second round. The first round, I was just dreaming. I was not inside there. I was not focused. Now, when I go there, I know how things work. I know how the UFC, how the cage, and everything is. Now, I’m going to go in there in the same way I go into a small show in my city. That’s it. That’s the mindset.”
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Vendramini is now 30 with a 13-3 professional record. He’s headed back to the United States for more training soon and has notified his manager, Jason House, that he’s ready should the UFC need him. Considering he was one iota away from having a win over Pimblett, Vendramini thinks the improvements make his signing a good one, should the UFC welcome him back.
“I think the second opportunity is going to be the same as reborn again,” Vendramini said. “I think about this since I go out. I cannot die without another opportunity. I don’t sleep normal. I don’t live normal. I feel like something is missing. I need this opportunity, not for money, not for fame. For me, I need it for myself. I need to show for myself what I’m capable of doing. … Even if I have opportunities with these guys again, I can beat them. I’m 100 percent sure of this.”
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Luigi Vendramini aims for UFC redemption after nearly rewriting history
