Watch: Israel Adesanya posts training camp video of him practicing exact combinations he used against Marvin Vettori at UFC 263
Coming off the first professional loss of his MMA career against Jan Blachowicz back in March, Israel Adesanya dominated Marvin Vettori at UFC 263. The win reminded everyone that he was still the 185-pound king - irrespective of what happens in other divisions.
Adesanya shut down Vettori's game with masterful combinations and slick movement and there is video evidence to suggest that 'The Last Stylebender' did exactly what he planned to do during the training camp.
In a recent video uploaded to Israel Adesanya's YouTube channel, the champ is seen practicing the exact combinations and techniques that he used against Marvin Vettori at the recent pay-per-view.
Titled 'The Italian Job II', referencing Marvin Vettori's nickname 'The Italian Dream', the video shows Adesanya stringing together combinations in the gym with a comparison to the actual fight.
Israel Adesanya secured a third successful defense of his UFC middleweight title against Vettori in the main event of UFC 263. The fight was a rematch of their 2018 fight that Adesanya won by split decision.
Wrestling played a major role in Vettori's partial success against Adesanya in the first fight, which also contributed to the champ's loss to 205-pound king Jan Blachowicz at UFC 259.
Many experts believed that Blachowicz had set the blueprint to beat Israel Adesanya and a fighter like Marvin Vettori could execute the correct gameplan to potentially dethrone the champ.
However, it was Israel Adesanya who showed more improvement in the rematch and won every round on all three judges' scorecards to produce a dominant performance against Vettori.
Israel Adesanya will defend his title against Robert Whittaker next
The rematch between Israel Adesanya and Marvin Vettori was booked because former champ Robert Whittaker was unable to accept the fight due to lingering injuries from his Kelvin Gastelum bout in April.
Ahead of UFC 263, UFC president Dana White told Submission Radio that Whittaker is the next challenger for the title and will not be leapfrogged by any other fighter in the division.
Israel Adesanya handed Whittaker his first loss at middleweight in their UFC 243 showdown and, in doing so, won the title. But Whittaker has looked unstoppable since the loss and has defended his No.1 spot three times against top contenders in the division.
Eager to test himself against the improved version of Whittaker in the rematch, Israel Adesanya called out his predecessor in his UFC 263 octagon interview and proposed his hometown of Auckland as the potential venue for the title fight.