Bitter rivals quick to point the finger
UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya has vowed to issue a timely reminder to the rest of the division while settling his feud with Marvin Vettori once and for all tomorrow.
Adesanya and Vettori square off in the main event of UFC 263 in Arizona and the stage was set with a fiery pre-fight press conference, where the Nigerian-born Kiwi star could barely answer a question without being yelled over by his opponent.
The clash is a rematch of their 2018 bout at the same venue, which Adesanya won by split decision and the Italian still disputes to this day.
As the war of words escalated in front of a mainly pro-Adesanya crowd, it was Vettori who lost his cool towards the end and had to be held back after Adesanya, not for the first time, questioned the legitimacy of his record.
‘‘Honestly speaking, since we last fought you can look at the stack of people he’s fought and the stack of people I’ve fought. There’s a vast difference,’’ Adesanya said.
‘‘It’s your fault because you don’t run your career.
‘‘I run your career. I’m the narrative of your career.’’
Vettori is 5-0 since losing to Adesanya, though Jack Hermansson is the only one of those opponents who are ranked in the top 10.
He finds himself in this position after No 1 contender Robert Whittaker needed a longer turnaround from his last fight.
With no doubt in his mind – and most observers – as to who won the first fight, Adesanya admitted that it took time to warm to the matchup.
But that changed after watching welterweight champion and fellow Nigerian Kamaru Usman win his recent rematch with Jorge Masvidal in emphatic fashion.
‘‘Well, [Vettori] said he wanted October, Robert said he wanted September and I said I’m the king, who wants June? He doesn’t deserve this but he stepped up,’’ Adesanya added.
‘‘I wasn’t excited at first but seeing the way Kamaru silenced everyone in his last fight makes me excited to do the same thing this weekend.’’
Steadfast in the belief that he was
robbed three years ago, Vettori has no shortage of confidence heading into the biggest fight of his career.
‘‘I have the advantage because I’m the superior fighter,’’ he said. ‘‘I can do everything. He doesn’t have the answers for what I bring to the table.
‘‘I’m getting two for one; revenge . . . and being the first Italian UFC champion ever.’’
Vettori repeatedly referenced
Adesanya’s unsuccessful move to light-heavyweight in March, when he suffered the first loss of his MMA career to champion Jan Blachowicz.
While Adesanya is undefeated at middleweight, there are those who believe Blachowicz has laid the blueprint for how to beat him, regardless of the division.
It’s nothing new for Adesanya. His reign came under question following last year’s lacklustre win
over Yoel Romero, which was quickly put to bed with his demolition job over Paulo Costa.
He plans to do exactly the same this weekend.
‘‘Remember what happened after UFC 248 when everyone was sleeping on me and I said ‘y’all must of forgot’,’’ Adesanya recalled. ‘‘I went in there to Abu Dhabi on a private island to fight in front of a lot of billionaires and f ..... him up.’’
Adesanya is joined on the card by City Kickboxing team-mate Brad Riddell, who meets 13th-ranked lightweight Drew Dober in the featured preliminary bout.
The co-main event features a flyweight title rematch between champion Deiveson Figueiredo and Brandon Moreno, while welterweight star Nate Diaz makes his long-awaited return in a five-round bout against Leon Edwards.