UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya spoke out on his YouTube channel and shared his views on his upcoming title defense. News recently came out that Adesanya would defend his middleweight strap against Marvin Vettori at UFC 263. The bout is a rematch of a fight that took place in 2018 when ‘The Last Stylebender’ was making his way up.
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Chiefly, former champion Robert Whittaker is next in line to rematch Adesanya after three straight wins over tough competition. However, ‘Bobby Knuckles’ needed some time off after a five-round fight against Kelvin Gastelum, and Adesanya wanted a quick turnaround. Marvin Vettori was ready to step in relatively quickly and is keen to get one over ‘The Last Stylebender’
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Israel Adesanya talks about his first fight against ‘The Italian Dream’
When asked to share his views on fighting Vettori next, Israel Adesanya revealed he was looking forward to facing Robert Whittaker instead. Moreover, he also trolled Vettori for his belief that their second meeting will be as close as the first one. Adesanya believes his close split decision win over Vettori was an anomaly and that their next fight will be decisive.
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ATLANTA, GA – APRIL 13: (L-R) UFC President Dana White places the interim middleweight championship belt on Israel Adesanya after defeating Kelvin Gastelum by unanimous decision in their interim middleweight championship bout during the UFC 236 event at State Farm Arena on April 13, 2019 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
The champion said, “I want to fight Rob. I wanted to fight Rob after I seen him with Kelvin and all. But you know, Marvin was like I want to go in October, I want to go in September. I’m like look I’m going in June, whoever wants it, step up, and yeah the Italian stepped up so kudos to him.”
“But yeah, you already know the person. You know you have their number and he’s still holding onto that fu**ing single leg. Like he’s holding on to that loss. He’s holding onto that loss better than his best wins, so I’m in his head rent-free.”
‘The Last Stylebender’ clearly wants to leave no doubt that Marvin Vettori isn’t on his level when they rematch. ‘The Italian Dream’ has come out on many occasions and said that he has the tools to overthrow the middleweight champion. Fans are certainly looking forward to the fight and also what lies next for the victor.
What do you make of Israel Adesanya’s comments on Marvin Vettori?
