Watch: Israel Adesanya working on his wrestling ahead of UFC 263 fight against Marvin Vettori
Israel Adesanya is looking sharp ahead of his middleweight title defense on June 12. The Last Stylebender will attempt to make a successful comeback after suffering his first MMA loss to 205lbs champion Jan Blachowicz in their UFC 259 showdown. Although Blachowicz edged past Adesanya in every area, wrestling significantly widened the points gap between the champs. This resulted in Israel Adesanya losing the fight convincingly on all three judges' scorecards.
In the first episode of the 'UFC 263 Fight Camp' vlog series, Israel Adesanya is seen working hard on his wrestling. City Kickboxing and its wrestling coach Andrei Paulet seem intent on fixing the biggest perceived weakness in his star pupil's game by adding new wrinkles to the champ's grappling skills.
UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya (20-1 MMA, 9-1 UFC) is set to attempt the third successful defense of his title against No.3 ranked Marvin Vettori (17-4-1D MMA, 7-2-1D UFC) in the main event of UFC 263 pay-per-view event. Scheduled to take place on June 12th, the event will be broadcast live from Gila River Arena in Glendale, Arizona, USA.
The UFC 263 title fight is the rematch of the 2018 fight between Israel Adesanya and Marvin Vettori, which was Adesanya's second outing under the UFC umbrella. Adesanya showcased his formidable kickboxing background as he got the better of Vettori in striking. However, Vettori controlled Adesanya on ground whenever the two wrestled and only allowed the future champ to get away with a narrow split decision win.
Three years later, Adesanya's loss to Jan Blachowicz has created a perception that grappling is still a major weakness in the former's game. Much of the intrigue surrounding the rematch stems from the success Vettori had on ground against Adesanya when they last fought.
Israel Adesanya lost a close friend and teammate ahead of UFC 263
Stephen Thompson, Kamaru Usman, Jorge Masvidal and Israel Adesanya are some MMA fighters who have started their own YouTube channel to give fight fans insights into their training routine and spartan lifestyle. However, it is a well known fact that the biggest battles in training camps are fought when there are no cameras to record. Israel Adesanya will step inside the UFC octagon on the back of a tragedy involving his teammate at City Kickboxing.
Israel Adesanya and City kickboxing suffered a difficult loss as one of their teammates, the 25-year-old Fau Vake, recently lost his life after battling for over a week. Vake was being treated in Aukland City Hospital after he suffered grave injuries in a cowardly attack in Aukland CBD. Israel Adesanya, Dan Hooker and other teammates at City Kickboxing expressed grief at their loss.
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