Israel Adesanya's brother reveals how he reacted when Marvin Vettori almost pulled off a rear-naked choke
Israel Adesanya's brother, David Adesanya, was anxious when Marvin Vettori locked the middleweight champion in a rear-naked choke at UFC 263. David said he almost "blacked out" when his brother got caught in a choke before he eventually escaped trouble.
Israel Adesanya and Marvin Vettori collided in a rematch at UFC 263. At the end of the fifth round, 'The Last Stylebender' secured a convincing 50-45 victory on all three judges' scorecards.
However, in the third round, Vettori almost locked Adesanya in a rear-naked choke. The Italian fighter was controlling 'The Last Stylebender' from a half-guard position before he successfully took his back. Still, the middleweight champion was able to survive the scare as he proceeded to secure top position.
Speaking to the UFC after the fight, David opened up on what was going through his mind when Vettori almost pulled off a rear-naked choke:
"Some scary moments when he (Marvin Vettori) had him (Israel Adesanya) in the rear naked (choke). I couldn't even see. I think I even blacked out, I don't even know. But he spun out of it and I came back to life. I don't even know what was happening there. His five-round fights are always off your seat. I'm still processing."
Marvin Vettori believes he should have won the UFC 263 fight against Israel Adesanya
After his battle with Israel Adesanya, Marvin Vettori said he thought he had done enough to dethrone the middleweight champ at UFC 263. 'The Italian Dream' acknowledged Adesanya's impressive performance but slammed the judges for scoring the fight 50-45.
"I went back and I talked to my coaches. I think 50-45 definitely was not the right decision but it is what it is. At the end of the day, I'm 27 years old," Vettori told BT Sport. "Right after the fight, I thought I won, and he (Israel Adesanya) is like, 'No you didn’t win'. I had all the cards to beat him, but I didn't. I said coming in I wouldn't leave any doubts, but even if I had won, I would have left doubts," he added.
Vettori was riding a five-fight win streak before heading into UFC 263. The 27-year-old is now looking forward to sharing the octagon with No.2-ranked middleweight Paulo Costa.