Israel Adesanya was looking to earn his third middleweight title defense when he rematched Marvin Vettori in tonight’s UFC 263 main event.
Adesanya (21-1 MMA) and Vettori (17-5-1 MMA) had originally collided in April of 2018, with the promotions reigning middleweight champion emerging victorious by way of split decision.
Since then ‘The Italian Dream’ had went on to win five fights in a row, his most previous being a dominant decision victory over Kevin Holland.
Meanwhile, Israel Adesanya had entered UFC 263 looking to rebound from the first loss of his professional MMA career. ‘Stylebender’ had his ambitions of becoming a champ-champ halted by Jan Blachowicz at UFC 259 back in March. Prior to that setback, the middleweight champion had reeled off two title defenses over opponents Yoel Romero and Paulo Costa.
Tonight’s UFC 263 main event proved to be a dominant showing from Israel Adesanya. The champ was able to seemingly stifle the grappling of Marvin Vettori, which left the Italian standing in Izzy’s wheelhouse. Although ‘Stylebender’ did not deliver on the finish that he promised, he did win every round on all three of the judges scorecards.
Official UFC 263 Result: Israel Adesanya def. Marvin Vettori by unanimous decision (50-45 x3)
Check out how the pros reacted to Adesanya defeating Vettori below:
https://twitter.com/dc_mma/status/1403934209190686727
Vettori comes out with his short on correctly. #UFC263
— Gerald Meerschaert (@The_Real_GM3) June 13, 2021
https://twitter.com/USMAN84kg/status/1403936215993262080
Yep. Izzy will be looking for that left head kick. #UFC263
— Alan Jouban (@AlanJouban) June 13, 2021
This moment is gonna tell us a lot about this fight!
— Daniel Cormier (@dc_mma) June 13, 2021
Rooting for Vettori
— Randa Markos (@randamma) June 13, 2021
https://twitter.com/tatianaufc/status/1403937816048898048
If Vettori can get at least 1 takedown he can slow down Adesanya #UFC263
— Dominick Cruz (@DominickCruz) June 13, 2021
https://twitter.com/chitoveraUFC/status/1403939230959607811
I was hoping Vettori would come in more like Jan for this fight. Chop Israel down
— Randa Markos (@randamma) June 13, 2021
Post-fight reactions to Israel Adesanya defeating Marvin Vettori at UFC 263:
https://twitter.com/funkmasterMMA/status/1403942786706014219
Game plan is not working
— Randa Markos (@randamma) June 13, 2021
https://twitter.com/chitoveraUFC/status/1403942802497568768
Rest up, see you soon. @ufc #ufc263
— Robert Whittaker (@robwhittakermma) June 13, 2021
https://twitter.com/tatianaufc/status/1403945100539949056
Who would you like to see Israel Adesanya fight next following his victory over Marvin Vettori this evening in Arizona? Share your thoughts in the comment section PENN Nation!