Dana White believes the reason Israel Adesanya and Marvin Vettori hate each other is because the two fighters are incredibly competitive. The UFC president thinks that the first bout between the pair was quite close, and each fighter liked to think that they won the fight.
During his interview with Submission Radio, White opened up on the main event of the UFC 263 pay-per-view this weekend. The UFC president believes that the intensity between Israel Adesanya and his opponent makes for a great fight.
"It's interesting that these guys, do hate each other as bad as they do. But again, I think it's because they're so competitive, they fought once, the first fight was so close. Each guy believes he won the fight, you know, one of those type of things. I think it makes for a great fight."
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White further reflected on how the first fight between Israel Adesanya and 'The Italian Dream' was a good outing for both men. He also mentioned that both middleweights are definitely not the same fighters as they were back in 2018 and expects the headliners to put on a good show in Arizona.
Israel Adesanya had tried to make his move up to light heavyweight and win the strap at 205-pounds. But after his UFC 259 loss to Jan Blachowicz, 'The Last Stylebender' wants to return to middleweight and prove how good he really is, according to Dana White.
"Obviously, the first fight was good, they're not the same fighters they were then. I expect this main event to be very, very good. Plus, if you're Israel Adesanya, you know he tried to make that move to light heavyweight. He wants to come back down and remind everybody what a bad*** he is."
Israel Adesanya and Marvin Vettori will headline the UFC 263 card
The UFC 263 pay-per-view is stacked from top to bottom. Israel Adesanya will headline the show alongside Marvin Vettori in a huge middleweight bout for the UFC middleweight title.
In 2018, Adesanya defeated Vettori in their first fight, in what was an incredibly close bout between the two. 'The Italian Dream' has gone undefeated since then and made his way back into title contention after his recent wins.