Israel Adesanya News

Adam D Martin - June 9, 2021

UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya and rival Marvin Vettori exchanged words following their run-in at the UFC 263 fighter hotel. Adesanya and Vettori meet in the main event of UFC 263 this Saturday night in a rematch. The two previously met in April 2018, with Adesanya winning a split decision. They now meet again three years later, only this time with Adesanya’s gold on the line. Before their big fight this weekend, Adesanya and Vettori ran into each other at the UFC fighter hotel ahead of the card. Check out how the interaction between the bitter rivals went.

Cole Shelton - June 8, 2021

Israel Adesanya still doesn’t understand how Marvin Vettori thought he won the first fight, but he plans on putting an exclamation mark on it on Saturday. In the main event of UFC 263, Adesanya will look to defend his middleweight title against Vettori in a rematch of their 2018 bout. It was “The Last Stylebender’s” second UFC fight and he edged out a split decision. Since then, Vettori claimed he won that fight, but at UFC 263, Adesanya plans to prove he’s better and wants to finish the Italian.

Cole Shelton - June 8, 2021

In the main event of UFC 263, Israel Adesanya looks to defend his middleweight title for the third time as he rematches Marvin Vettori. Heading into the fight, Adesanya is a -250 favorite while the challenger is a +200 underdog. Ahead of the fight, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to get their predictions for the scrap. The majority believe Israel Adesanya will get his hand raised again and likely do so by stoppage this time around.

Harry Kettle - June 8, 2021

Marvin Vettori has secured a sponsorship deal with Dolce & Gabbana heading into his UFC 263 main event this Saturday. The news comes courtesy of his manager Ali Abdelaziz as “The Italian Dream” gears up for the most important fight of his life. He’ll be taking on Israel Adesanya, the man who beat him via split decision in an intriguing bout back in 2018, with the UFC middleweight title being on the line.

Chris Taylor - May 29, 2021

Middleweight champion Israel Adesanya has been relatively quiet ahead of his UFC 263 rematch with Italian standout Marvin Vettori. Adesanya (20-1 MMA) and Vettori (17-4-1 MMA) originally collided in April of 2018, with the promotions reigning middleweight champion emerging victorious by way of split decision.

Cole Shelton - May 25, 2021

Luke Rockhold is confident he would beat Israel Adesanya if he gets the chance to face him. Rockhold has recently revealed he is looking to return to the middleweight but many of the divisions top-15 have turned him down. However, he is still eager to return and knows if he works his way to a title shot he would be able to beat Adesanya as he thinks the middleweight champ is beatable in so many ways.

Harry Kettle - May 24, 2021

City Kickboxing has released a statement confirming the death of amateur MMA fighter Fau Vake after a week in critical condition. Vake was admitted to hospital due to injuries suffered from an assault last Sunday morning in Auckland, with his teammates and coaches all being by his side in the days since – including Eugene Bareman and Israel Adesanya.

Christopher Taylor - May 20, 2021

The Octagon returns to Arizona for next month’s UFC 263 event, a fifteen-bout fight card headlined by Israel Adesanya vs. Marvin Vettori 2. Adesanya (20-1 MMA) and Vettori (17-4-1 MMA) originally collided in April of 2018, with the promotions reigning middleweight champion emerging victorious by way of split decision.

Drake Riggs - May 12, 2021

Marvin Vettori is finally set to get his long-awaited rematch with Israel Adesanya. The current middleweight champion in Adesanya last fought at UFC 259 in March when challenging for the 205-pound title. Poland’s Jan Blachowicz would end up getting the better of his fellow champion by way of a unanimous decision on the night – doing so primarily by utilizing his grappling in the final rounds. Vettori wasn’t surprised to see this play out and is all the more confident going into his first career UFC title fight.

Adam D Martin - May 5, 2021

Jack Hermansson says he’s the hardest matchup for UFC champion Israel Adesanya at 185lbs, saying “His bottom game is definitely not the best.” Hermansson returns to the Octagon next Saturday at UFC 262 against Edmen Shahbazyan in a fight between two top-15 middleweights coming off of tough losses. Hermansson dropped a decision to Marvin Vettori back in December, and Vettori is now fighting for the belt. As for Shahbazyan, he lost to top contender Derek Brunson the last time we saw him. This matchup next weekend at UFC 262 is an important one for both men in the stacked UFC middleweight division, especially if they continue to have title aspirations at 185lbs.

Harry Kettle - May 5, 2021

The UFC 263 card looks more stacked than ever after it was confirmed that Nate Diaz vs Leon Edwards has been moved to this event. Diaz and Edwards were initially set to square off at UFC 262 which will take place next weekend. However, it’s now been confirmed that an undisclosed minor injury has forced it to be moved back a month to UFC 263 in Glendale.

Adam D Martin - May 3, 2021

UFC middleweight contender Robert Whittaker was criticized by coach Eugene Bareman for turning down a title shot against Israel Adesanya. After defeating Kelvin Gastelum in lopsided fashion at UFC Vegas 24, it was fully expected that Whittaker would get the next title shot against Adesanya. However, the promotion announced that it will be Marvin Vettori who next takes on Adesanya at UFC 263 on June 12. Whittaker later explained the reasons that he was unable to go so soon because he’s banged up, and the UFC decided to go with Vettori. But for Bareman, it was a bad call.

Cole Shelton - April 28, 2021

Israel Adesanya had a similar reaction to many others when Chris Weidman broke his leg at UFC 261. On the main card of the stacked pay-per-view, Weidman and Uriah Hall were having a rematch over 10 years in the making. It was a crucial fight for both men, but unfortunately, on the first strike of the fight, Weidman threw a leg kick that was checked and his leg completely snapped.

Chris Taylor - April 25, 2021

Robert Whittaker gave a hilarious response when asked if hoped Israel Adesanya would beat Marvin Vettori in their scheduled rematch at UFC 263. After Whittaker (23-5 MMA) scored a dominant victory over Kelvin Gastelum last weekend, which extended his current winning streak to three in a row, many fans expected that a rematch with reigning middleweight champion Israel Adesanya would be next for the Aussie.

Adam Martin - April 25, 2021

Robert Whittaker explained why it was impossible for him to accept a rematch with UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya at UFC 263. Whittaker defeated Kelvin Gastelum at last weekend’s UFC Vegas 24 event to improve to 3-0 since losing his belt to Adesanya at UFC 243. The Aussie was widely expected to be next in line to fight for the title, but the UFC did an about-face this week and gave Marvin Vettori the title shot instead. That decision led to a lot of chatter amongst fight fans, who believed that Whittaker should have been the next man in line. But according to Whittaker, he actually was offered the fight, only the conditions made the fight impossible to take.

Adam Martin - April 25, 2021

The betting odds have been released for the rematch between UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya and rival Marvin Vettori at UFC 263. Adesanya and Vettori first met in 2018 with Adesanya winning a split decision in what was one of his toughest fights at middleweight during his UFC career. After a failed attempt at moving up in weight and taking on UFC light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz last month, Adesanya will return back to 185lbs for his next title defense against Vettori. Although we thought that former champion Robert Whittaker would have been next in line to fight Adesanya in a rematch between the two rivals, the UFC decided to go with Vettori instead because the promotion has a date to fill on June 12 and Whittaker couldn’t take it.

Adam D Martin - April 23, 2021

UFC president Dana White confirmed that Marvin Vettori could be next in line to fight UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya. After beating Kelvin Gastelum at UFC Vegas 24 last weekend for his third straight win, it was widely assumed that Robert Whittaker, the No. 1 contender at 185lbs, would be the next in line to fight Adesanya. However, while speaking on the Bill Simmons podcast, White said that the UFC is now looking at Vettori for the next title shot. The reason that’s the case is becuase the UFC is hoping Adesanya returns on June 12 at UFC 263. Right now, that event is headlined by UFC flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo and Brandon Moreno, so another title fight taking place on the card could be beneficial for PPV sales.

Harry Kettle - April 20, 2021

UFC president Dana White has confirmed that he believes Robert Whittaker should be next in line to face Israel Adesanya for the UFC middleweight title. Whittaker is coming off the back of an impressive win over Kelvin Gastelum this past weekend with many believing it’s the best he’s ever looked in the UFC. The victory goes nicely alongside his recent successes against Darren Till and Jared Cannonier with many believing he’s the natural No. 1 contender at 185 pounds.