UFC 263: Marvin Vettori vows to bring Israel Adesanya crashing down to earth
- Italian contender rides 5-0 run into a shot at Israel Adesanya’s middleweight crown
- ‘People built up an image of [Adesanya] that was surreal and I have never believed it,’ says Vettori
Marvin Vettori is of the opinion Israel Adesanya tried to fly too high, too soon with his failed attempt to take the UFC’s light heavyweight crown and that the Nigerian-born Kiwi fighter will continue to come crashing back down to earth when the pair meet at UFC 263 in Arizona this weekend.
“People built up an image of [Adesanya] that was surreal and I have never believed it,” the 27-year-old Italian tells SCMP MMA. “I’m here to bring him down again.”
Up for grabs on Saturday at the Gila River Arena is the UFC’s middleweight title, held by Adesanya (20-1) but coveted by the No 3-ranked Vettori (17-4-1) who has been stewing – sometimes silently, sometimes not – on the sidelines ever since the pair first met back at UFC on FOX 29 in April, 2018.
The result that night was a split decision to Adesanya, as close as anyone had come to defeating the now 31-year-old until – that is – he made a run at the current light heavyweight champ, Poland’s Jan Błachowicz (28-8), at UFC 259 in Las Vegas in March, and he found himself thoroughly outpointed for the first time in his career.
Vettori was watching that night and he says he was filing away what he learned, for future reference, given the fact he has been on track for a rematch with Adesanya for the past three years.