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Israel Adesanya Says ‘Dog Psychology’ Helps Him Against Marvin Vettori

Published 06/11/2021, 12:49 AM EDT

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Israel Adesanya’s quest for greatness continues this weekend as he aims to defend his belt once again at UFC 263. The Nigerian-born fighter takes on a former foe in Marvin Vettori for his third title defense. As the fight draws closer, the build-up has become even more intense with both men swinging abuses and insults at each other. 

In a recent interview with Kevin Iole, Israel Adesanya pointed out a few non-verbal cues that he had picked up from Vettori during his interview with Iole. ‘The Last Stylebender’ shared the same on his Twitter as well. Adesanya explained what he learned from the interview and how he picked up those cues. 

He said, “I’ve been working with this guy who has been helping with my dogs. Cause I have always been into like dog psychology…. So yeah, I’m into dog psychology and stuff. I’ve been working with this guy for maybe four weeks now and doing that I have kinda like reinvigorated my love for that stuff. And in doing that it has made me more aware of non-verbal cues in people. I got some more clips of yours and his interview that I expose a lot. You did not do anything all you did was ask a simple question and I could see some non-verbal cues.”

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Can Israel Adesanya prove that he is a well-rounded mixed martial artist on Saturday night?

The common consensus going into the fight is that Vettori will test Adesanya’s takedown defense. It is no secret that ‘The Last Stylebender’ is the better striker. Therefore, if the fight stays on the feet, he will win. However, if the fight goes to the ground, ‘The Italian Dream’ might have a significant advantage. 

Jan Blachowicz exposed a gaping hole in Adesanya’s game. He repeatedly took Adesanya down and controlled him on the ground to hand him his first loss as a professional mixed martial artist. However, it is important to keep in mind that Blachowicz was significantly heavier than him, and that was not Adesanya’s weight class. 

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Adesanya has fared well against wrestlers in the UFC and has a takedown defense rate of 82%. Given that Vettori is in his weight class, it might be easier for Adesanya to defend takedowns. ‘The Italian Dream’ has averaged 2.2 takedowns per 15 minutes and has attempted 0.8 submissions per 15 minutes. 

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Do you think Israel Adesanya will defend his belt for the third time at UFC 263 and prove that he is a well-rounded mixed martial artist? Let us know in the comments below!

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Written by:

Kevin Binoy

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Kevin Binoy is an MMA author at EssentiallySports. He earned a Bachelor's degree from Fergusson College and has been covering sports professionally for over two years. Besides working with the MMA writing team, Kevin is a core member of the organization's web stories team and is responsible for delivering engaging MMA web stories.
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