"He is tough" - Israel Adesanya explains what surprised him the most about Marvin Vettori at UFC 263

Israel Adesanya successfully defended his middleweight title for the third time at UFC 263. After the five-round contest, 'The Last Stylebender' gave props to Marvin Vettori for being a tough opponent in the fight.

Adesanya admitted that he didn't expect Vettori to withstand the damage he caused in the UFC 263 headliner. According to the 31-year-old, the Italian fighter has improved significantly since the last time they shared the octagon in 2018.

Speaking to BT Sport, Israel Adesanya also said that Vettori's boxing and head movement were on point during their fight.

"He is tough. He said in the interview that 'I'm stronger than I look'. And I said 'Yes, he's tougher'. He looks tough but he is tough. He is hard to put away and his boxing did improve, I'll give him that. His head movement improved but I had fun in there. I still wanted to punch him in the face more," said Israel Adesanya.

Adesanya's win at UFC 263 marks his tenth victory in the 185-pound weight class. The New Zealander claimed the UFC middleweight title after defeating Robert Whittaker in 2019.

Since then, he has defended the belt against the likes of Yoel Romero, Paulo Costa and, most recently, Marvin Vettori.

Israel Adesanya reveals how many times he will fight in 2021

UFC 263: Adesanya v Vettori 2

In the same interview, Israel Adesanya shed light on his aspirations to continue being an active UFC champion. 'The Last Stylebender' said he would certainly fight one or two more times in 2021.

"This is my third fight in nine months. I'm actually an active champ. Not like these people who say they want to be active champs and don't actually be and fight maybe once or twice a year. I'm an active champ. So, I might fight two more times this year or one more time this year but it depends on this whole fu****g COVID bulls**t. We'll see," said Israel Adesanya.

During his post-fight interview, Adesanya also called out Robert Whittaker for a rematch. 'The Reaper' has registered three huge wins since losing his title to Adesanya and will most certainly compete for the middleweight title in his next outing.