Marvin
Vettori fought Israel
Adesanya before “The Last Stylebender” was truly a superstar,
and the Italian middleweight almost came away with a victory on the
scorecards.
The 27-year-old Kings MMA product dropped a split decision to
Adesanya at UFC on Fox 29 in April 2018 in what was the current
middleweight champion’s second Octagon appearance. Since then the
City Kickboxing star has racked up seven more victories within the
Las Vegas-based promotion — including a pair of title defenses —
and now has enough clout to be on the verge of pursuing
two-division dominance.
Meanwhile, Vettori appears to be just now coming into his own at
185 pounds following an impressive five-round verdict over Jack
Hermansson in the UFC on ESPN 29 headliner at the UFC Apex on
Saturday night. “The Italian Dream” has won four straight fights
and is gradually climbing toward the top of the division. Vettori
remembers Adesanya’s recent dismissive comments toward him, and now
he believes his on the verge of making the Nigerian-born Kiwi eat
his words.
“Israel is full of s—t,” Vettori said at Saturday’s post-fight
press conference. “He was like, ‘Oh I don’t think I will ever see
Marvin again, he will never make it to the title.’ Well guess what
motherf—-er? I’m here.
“He thinks he has it all figured out. He’s got nothing figured out.
I know his true colors. I met him a few times. I fought him. I know
his true colors. I want that fight.”
Vettori issued a callout to Paulo Costa
in the immediate aftermath of his latest victory, but he had
reconsidered that request by the time he made it to the podium to
address the media. Costa is coming off a second-round TKO defeat to
Adesanya in a title bout at UFC 253 in September. When Vettori
surveys the rest of the middleweight division, he doesn’t see any
fights that make more sense than a title shot and rematch against
Adesanya.
“To be honest with you, before I called out ‘Borrachinha,’, but f—k
‘Borrachinha,’ he just came out of a crazy loss,” Vettori said.
“Why would I even fight him? I want to go straight to the title.
I’ll be really honest. I like the fight, but I feel Top 5 there’s
no opposition. There’s no real opposition.
“[Jared] Cannonier just lost. Darren Till,
I don’t know, I don’t even think he’s Top 5. ‘Borrachinha’ just
lost brutally and who else is there? Jack was No. 4. [Robert]
Whittaker wants to just enjoy Christmas with his kids, which I
don’t blame him, but it doesn’t seem like he really wants to fight
for the title.”
Although UFC president Dana White generally isn’t in the business
of matchmaking immediately following an event, he did seem to like
the sounds of a potential Vettori-Costa booking.
“I love that fight,” White said. “Love it. We’ll see, but I love
that fight.”
Vettori’s dream of jumping straight into a middleweight title shot
could include obstacles outside of the division. White has said
that Adesanya will next face light heavyweight champ Jan
Blachowicz for the 205-pound belt at an as yet to be determined
event in 2021. Vettori points to Brazilian veteran Glover
Teixeira, who is currently on a five-fight winning streak at
light heavyweight, as a far more deserving contender than
Adesanya.
“Glover Teixeira deserves that fight,” Vettori said. “[Adesanya]
shouldn’t fight for the light heavyweight title. I think Glover
Teixeira’s going to get that fight.”