'I don't feel like he was that in control' - Marvin Vettori claims Israel Adesanya convinced the crowd he was controlling the UFC 263 main event
During a recent interview with ESPN MMA, Marvin Vettori spoke about his rematch against Israel Adesanya at UFC 263.
Marvin Vettori thinks that Adesanya wasn't in control during their second fight but gave a feeling to the crowd as if he was. He also believes that Izzy didn't have that many weapons in his arsenal that he could've used against 'The Italian Dream'.
"Mentally, he was able to be more cool and I don't feel like he was that in control but he gave that feeling to the crowd and he was able to ball the crowd a lot too and got the crowd thinking that he was in full control, which I don't think he was because he didn't have that many weapons that he could use against me actually and he was most of the time disengaged in any kind of fight but he did really fight a smart fight."
While Vettori believes that his arch-rival wasn't any better in their second meeting, 'The Italian Dream' did claim that Adesanya was mentally the cooler one between the two.
At UFC 263, Adesanya dominated Vettori, taking his score to 2-0 against the Italian.
The pair initially collided in 2018. Their first bout was a closer affair than their rematch in 2021. Vettori took a round off Adesanya, who struggled to a split decision victory on the night.
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Despite being dominated for the majority of the fight at UFC 263, Marvin Vettori refused to claim that Adesanya was the better man. 'The Italian Dream' said he didn't see any major improvements from the reigning UFC middleweight champion.
Check out Marvin Vettori's interview below:
Marvin Vettori will return to action against Paulo Costa
Marvin Vettori is set to make his return to the octagon this weekend against Paulo Costa in a colossal middleweight clash. Both men head into the fight off losses against reigning champion Israel Adesanya.
This Saturday in 𝐏𝐑𝐈𝐌𝐄𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄!
🇧🇷 @BorrachinhaMMA vs @MarvinVettori 🇮🇹 at #UFCVegas41 https://t.co/wxB0rvmQhG
The fight could have significant implications for the middleweight division. The winner may not get an immediate title shot at Adesanya again; however, they will certainly be closer than they are now.