Israel Adesanya Says Dana White Truly Saw the UFC Champion in Him

Published 06/06/2021, 12:47 PM EDT

UFC middleweight champion, Israel Adesanya, returns to action next weekend as he faces Marvin Vettori in the main event of the pay-per-view. ‘The Last Stylebender’ will look to defend his belt for the third time against ‘The Italian Dream’. Also, Izzy will be determined to put his first career loss against light-heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz behind him.

Adesanya came into the UFC as a promising star. He had been a sensational kickboxer before turning to MMA. After competing in the regional promotions in MMA, Adesanya finally made it to the UFC in 2018. He stopped Rob Wilkinson in his first fight and earned a split decision over Vettori in his second outing in the promotion.

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Although his win against Vettori in 2018 wasn’t his most impressive performance, UFC President Dana White saw enough to know that Adesanya had the potential to be a superstar. After the fight, White said, “He looked Human tonight. But he’s very, very good.”

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Adesanya remembers that time and recalled how the UFC President knew all along that bigger things are coming from ‘The Last Stylebender’. “I’m really glad that Dana White didn’t shy away from what he knew, what he saw in me. Dana White saw that this guy, he’s something. So my next fight put me in a main event against Brad Tavares. I showed out 5-0. I silenced all the haters. And that was that,” said the middleweight champion.

Adesanya was part of a UFC main event in his next fight against Brad Tavares. He won a dominant decision over the course of 5 rounds against Tavares.

Israel Adesanya vs Marvin Vettori 2: What to expect?

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The champion will be sharper than ever after suffering his first career loss in a different division. Although Vettori looks to be on a roll, Izzy has proven to be head and shoulders above the rest of the 185 lbs division.

Nevertheless, the bad blood is there between the two. That only adds to the fans’ anticipation for the event. One will have to wait and see how things unfold when the duo clashes next weekend.

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Who gets it done? Izzy or Vettori? Let us know.

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Written by:

Apratim Banerjee is an MMA author for EssentiallySports and has been writing professionally for almost a year. Before his current gig, Apratim worked as a UFC writer for Sportskeeda. A long-time MMA fan, Apratim has developed a critical eye for the sport that has helped him transfer his vast knowledge to his copies and give hardcore and casual readers a detailed insight into the fights and fighters.

Israel Adesanya Says Dana White Truly Saw the UFC Champion in Him

Israel Adesanya vs Marvin Vettori 2: What to expect?

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