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UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya is ready to defend his crown against a rampaging Marvin Vettori in the headliner of UFC 263. The Nigerian will look to brush aside the third challenger advancing towards his title.

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In the build-up to their fight, both men have traded verbal blows on each other on social media platforms and interviews. Their antics have garnered enough build-up to make their matchup enticing for the audience.

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During the weigh-in show, Vettori appeared for an interview and talked about his matchup with Adesanya. He explained why he gets into intense mode often.

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He also had few words for Adesanya before they go bonkers on each other in the ring. “I wanna eat him with my eyes when I see him.”

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“I wanna look through his soul and just eat him. Like, just like, tame this motherf**ker. Like, that’s what I wanna do. I wanna eat him alive,” he said.

After Vettori’s interview got over, Adesanya appeared for his part. The Nigerian talked about how he made Vettori frustrated during their face-off (which almost made Vettori jump on Adesanya).

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Adesanya then gave his response when he was made aware of Vettori’s ‘eat him alive’ comment. The champ made an amusing face and asked, “What the f*ck does that even mean? Where did he get that from, Mordor?”

READ MORE: ‘Don’t Be Scared Jonny Boy’- Francis Ngannou Responds to Jon Jones’ Comments

Israel Adesanya talks about the difference since the last fight with Vettori

Adesanya (20-1) then talked about the changes he has seen in the fighting style of Vettori since the last time he fought with him.

“Emotionally yes. Physically like, like I said, his wrestling has changed up a bit,” he told. “But I said this already, I have put on Twitter, you can see the record who he has fought and who I fought since we last fought at 185. So, yeah, there is a vast difference, a vast difference in skills.”

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The champ further said, “There is a vast difference of opponents and ranked opponents. He couldn’t even give me three top 10 opponents he has fought.”

Well, with all said and done, the UFC 263 headliner will break a streak. Either Adesanya‘s undefeated middleweight reign will come to an end or Vettori‘s 5 fight streak will fall on the canvas.

What according to you, is more likely to happen?

WATCH THIS STORY: Israel Adesanya’s most memorable dance moments

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Written by

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Akshyay Srichandan Mahapatra

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Akshyay Mahapatra is a UFC author for EssentiallySports. He wished to combine his passion for the UFC (that he has been following since 2008) as well as his love for writing. This motivated him to enter the world of combat sports journalism. His long tenure as a fight fan lends weight to the views he expresses in his articles. Following Brock Lesnar's move from the WWE to the UFC, he grew to respect the work of every single professional fighter. As he understood MMA is a true discipline, he remained a die-hard UFC fan even after Alistair Overeem sent Brock Lesnar packing from the UFC at UFC 141 in 2011. He is a great admirer of the Dagestani juggernaut Khabib Nurmagomedov and is a fan of 'The Predator' Francis Ngannou's insane KO power. In his downtime, Akshyay loves catching the latest flick. He is a film fanatic and has a special affinity towards suspense thrillers.

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