Stephen Thompson, Anthony Smith, Cory Sandhagen predict Israel Adesanya vs Marvin Vettori at UFC 263

Published 06/12/2021, 9:00 PM EDT

Israel Adesanya and Marvin Vettori will clash in the main event of tonight’s UFC 263 PPV. Ahead of the blockbuster clash, fighters predicted the outcome of the fight. Stars like Anthony Smith, ‘The Sandman’, Stephen Thompson, and more shared their take on how the fights will play out.

The fight between ‘Stylebender’ and ‘The Italian Dream’ will be a rematch between the duo. They have previously fought in 2018 with Adesanya claiming a split decision win over Vettori. However, almost every fighter agreed that it would be a mistake to judge the outcome of this term based on that fight as both fighters have made massive improvements in their game.

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Former light-heavyweight title challenger, Anthony Smith, believes the fight will be close this time too. He picked the champion to be triumphant this time too. ‘Lionheart‘ added that Adesanya will be motivated from his last fight, where he dropped a decision against Jan Blachowicz.

While ‘The Sandman‘ picked the champion for the win, middleweight contender Edmen Shahbazyan believes the fight is too close to call.

Former welterweight title challenger, Stephen ‘Wonderboy‘ Thompson, picked Izzy to be the winner of the contest as well. Women’s flyweight contender, Lauren Murphy, went on to pick Vettori to get the better of the champion. Montana De La Rosa also picked ‘The Italian Dream’ to get a decision in his favor.

The trio of Jiri Prochazka, Jairzinho Rozenstruik, and Rob Font also picked ‘The Last Stylebender’ to win.

There were some picks in favor of Vettori, but most of the fighters favored Adesanya to keep hold of his title for now.

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Israel Adesanya vs Marvin Vettori 2: What to expect?

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The duo may have gone to a split decision in their previous contest, but the decision of that fight is arguable. Many believe it should have been Adesanya getting a unanimous decision in his favor. However, as both men have truly evolved since then, it’s tough to judge this contest based on that fight.

Also, one can expect to see a fiery version of Adesanya back in action again after his loss to Blachowicz at UFC 259. Nevertheless, fans can expect a banger when the two top middleweights collide.

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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.

Stephen Thompson, Anthony Smith, Cory Sandhagen predict Israel Adesanya vs Marvin Vettori at UFC 263

Israel Adesanya vs Marvin Vettori 2: What to expect?

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