UFC middleweight who lost to Israel Adesanya twice makes surprising six-word autism confession as fan mocks trilogy callout faux pas

A UFC middleweight combatant who was defeated by Israel Adesanya twice has made a rather surprising assertion in regard to autism. The fighter's confession came after a faux pas, which transpired when he issued a callout to Adesanya for a potential trilogy fight.

Adesanya is coming off a second-round TKO defeat against Nassourdine Imavov at UFC Saudi Arabia on Feb. 1, 2025. The Nigeria-born Kiwi, who's long been counted among the best MMA fighters ever, is on a three-fight losing streak.

Certain sections of the combat sports community have since speculated about whether the legendary Adesanya's athletic prime and his peak as an MMA megastar are behind him. On that note, his longtime rival, Marvin Vettori, also chimed in after the UFC Saudi Arabia fight.

Vettori has faced Israel Adesanya twice inside the octagon. He lost via split decision in a non-title bout in April 2018. He also lost via unanimous decision in a title bout against then-UFC middleweight champion Adesanya in June 2021. After Adesanya's stoppage loss against Imavov, Vettori took to X and wrote:

"Only chance for Adesanya to win a fight is to fight me lol"

A number of netizens pointed out the apparent faux pas in Marvin Vettori's statement. They indicated that while seemingly calling Israel Adesanya out for a possible trilogy fight, Vettori -- in the way he worded his tweet -- inadvertently implied that Adesanya could defeat him again.

One X user responded to the aforementioned tweet by questioning whether Vettori had ever been tested for autism, seemingly jibing at his callout faux pas. 'The Italian Dream,' who fights Roman Dolidze next month, issued a six-word response, suggesting that he was surely autistic:

"No but for sure i am"

Per the New England Journal of Medicine, the medical condition of autism adversely affects how one interacts with the environment, learns, and communicates.

Check out the X exchange below:

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Marvin Vettori's ominous prediction about UFC rival Israel Adesanya's career

During a backstage interview with ESPN MMA at UFC Saudi Arabia, former two-time UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya congratulated his opponent Nassourdine Imavov. Following his latest loss, 'The Last Stylebender' notably signaled that he'd like to take some time to think about what's next for him.

Incidentally, after Adesanya lost his UFC middleweight championship via unanimous decision to Sean Strickland in September 2023, some of his critics warned that he'd be unlikely to reclaim the title for a third time. Middleweight contender Marvin Vettori was one such critic.

Speaking to The Schmo in March 2024, Marvin Vettori ominously warned that Israel Adesanya would be unable to beat any of the top-tier middleweights if he returned to the octagon.

'The Italian Dream' reaffirmed his interest in a potential trilogy against Adesanya, but he opined that the grappling and MMA realms overall are constantly evolving and have gotten to a point where 'Izzy' "can't hang."

When asked who he'd like to see the then-newly crowned middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis attempt his first title defense against, Vettori segued into an ominous prediction about Adesanya:

"'Izzy' will lose any fight. If he comes back, he's not going to win any fight."

Watch Marvin Vettori's assessment below (4:46):