Israel Adesanya believes his title bout with Marvin Vettori will end one of two ways but regardless, he will have his hand raised.
Adesanya is set to put the UFC Middleweight Championship on the line against Vettori in the main event of UFC 263. The action will be held inside the Gila River Arena in Glendale, Arizona. This will be a rematch as Adesanya holds a split decision victory over Vettori dating back to 2018.
During an interview with TSN’s Aaron Bronsteter, Adesanya broke down two ways he can defeat Vettori a second time.
“Either that (a finish) or I beat him like I did Tavares, like 5-0. I want him to know that there’s no way he’s coming out of this a victor. I want him to know, when he looks at me, in the post-fight press conference, or on YouTube, or sees me on TV after this, he just knows, ‘F**k, that guy beat me. That guy’s better than me.’ I want him to just know that. That’s what I want him to know come Sunday morning.”
Adesanya is looking to get back on the horse after losing his last bout. That’s rare to say for a reigning champion but “The Last Stylebender” chased UFC “Champ-Champ” status in his last outing. Adesanya was defeated by Jan Blachowicz in a bid to become the UFC Light Heavyweight Champion.
If Adesanya can pull off the win over Vettori, then it’ll mark his third successful UFC Middleweight Title defense. Vettori brings with him a five-fight winning streak. He hasn’t lost since that split decision against Adesanya.
Adesanya has made sure to leave no stone unturned ahead of the rematch with Vettori. He and his team worked to have a judge removed from the UFC 263 main event. They succeeded as Chris Lee will no longer be at the judges’ table for the UFC 263 headliner. Lee is the lone judge who had Vettori beating Adesanya in their first meeting with a score of 29-28.
