There has been no love lost between Marvin Vettori and Israel Adesanya since their last meeting inside the octagon. Vettori recently went off on the Kiwi, flaming him for the mentality he carries into his fights.
In a recent interview with ESNews, Vettori shared his belief that Adesanya lacks a champion's mentality. 'The Italian Dream' slammed the reigning middleweight champion for his safe approach to fighting opponents he knows he can't knock out.
He said:
"The way [Israel Adesanya] fights. He fights like a b***h, bro. I swear. He fought me like a b***h. He fought [Yoel Romero] like a b***h. When he knows, like he can't hurt a guy or nothing, he'll fight like, he'll fight and run. He'll score. He's like, 'Oh, you got to beat me to become the champion. His mentality is not like, 'I'm the champion, I'm going to f**k you up. That's my f***ing [inaudible]'. He's thinking like, 'Oh, I'm going to cruise, if you want to come and beat me, you'll have to beat me'. That's how he thinks."
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Check out Marvin Vettori's comments about Israel Adesanya below:
Marvin Vettori and Israel Adesanya have crossed paths twice in the UFC. Their first fight came way back in April 2018 at UFC on FOX 29. Adesanya managed to come away with a split decision win after three rounds.
Their rematch took place at UFC 263 with the UFC middleweight title on the line. Adesanya prevailed yet again, recording a unanimous decision win in their main event matchup.
Michael Bisping says Marvin Vettori would be champion if it wasn't for Israel Adesanya
Michael Bisping believes Marvin Vettori would be UFC middleweight champion if not for Israel Adesanya.
Vettori is one of the finest fighters on the planet when he's at his best. The Italian has delivered some memorable performances inside the octagon.
In his last fight against Paulo Costa, he showcased the kind of heart that reaffirms why he's such an elite competitor. In a recent Q&A session on YouTube, Bisping spoke highly of Vettori and where he ranks him amongst current 185 lbs fighters.
The former middleweight champion said:
“If it wasn’t for Israel Adesanya right now, he’d [Marvin Vettori] be the champ, definitely. He’s the next best guy at 185 in my opinion, he’s doing tremendous things. I’m a friend of Marvin’s, I think he’s tremendous. That fight he had against Paulo Costa was sensational."
Watch Michael Bisping give his take on Marvin Vettori and Israel Adesanya below: