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Fans reacted as Israel Adesanya's former rival and No.7-ranked UFC middleweight contender Marvin Vettori announced the timeline for his return to competition. Vettori has been on the sidelines since suffering a unanimous decision loss to Jared Cannonier in June 2023. He was supposed to fight Brendan Allen in April, but an injury forced him to withdraw from the bout.
Recently, 'The Italian Dream' posted on X that he is ready to return on eight weeks' notice, tagging UFC boss Dana White and matchmaker Mick Maynard in his announcement, presumably to get an opponent.
"I'm ready to go. 8 weeks, anyone @ufc @Mickmaynard2"
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Fans flooded the comments section to share their thoughts and suggest potential opponents for Vettori's comeback fight. Many expressed that Vettori should face Allen, as the duo got into a brawl after a PFL event in August and have since been embroiled in a bitter rivalry. Meanwhile, a few others suggested rising contender and fan-favorite fighter Caio Borralho's name as a potential opponent.
Vettori challenged Adesanya for the middleweight title in their UFC 263 rematch. Despite high expectations following their competitive first fight, the 31-year-old struggled to put up strong resistance and lost by unanimous decision.
Since the title fight opportunity, he has had mixed success, recording a 2-2 record and suffering crucial losses against Cannonier and former champion Robert Whittaker.
Marvin Vettori's reaction to Israel Adesanya's emotional outburst at UFC 305 pre-fight press conference and subsequent defeat
Despite ending in a 2-0 sweep for Israel Adesanya, his rivalry with Marvin Vettori remains unresolved, as the two fighters have exchanged subtle jabs at each other on several occasions after their UFC 263 fight.
Adesanya, who was scheduled to challenge Dricus du Plessis for the middleweight title at UFC 305, became emotional and broke into tears after the South African champion's comments during the press conference.
Responding to the incident in a social media post, Vettori wrote:
"Adesanya cried because he can't say he grow up poor, lol."
Vettori predicted du Plessis to defeat Adesanya at UFC 305 in another post, writing:
"Dricus winning this, I said it then and I’ll say it now."
Vettori labeled himself "Mystic Vettori" after du Plessis handed Adesanya a fourth-round submission defeat.
