Marvin Vettori fires shots at ‘bullsh*t’ Israel Adesanya: ‘His time is over… you’re going to see me fight Alex Pereira’
Marvin Vettori fired shots at the reigning UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya.
Coming off a win over Paulo Costa in his last outing in Oct. 2021, top-ranked middleweight contender Marvin Vettori will take on former division champion Robert Whittaker at UFC Paris on Sep. 3 at Accor Arena. Vettori has shared the octagon with Adesanya on two occasions. He came close to getting the nod on the judges’ scorecards in their first clash but ultimately lost the bout by split decision.
“The Italian Dream” earned a second chance at “Stylebender,” this time for the 185 lb gold at UFC 263 in June last year, after racking up a five-fight win streak. However, Vettori would drop the outing by unanimous decision.
Marvin Vettori bashed Israel Adesanya: ‘His time is over’
Marvin Vettori criticized Adesanya for not backing up his words. Given the recent string of underwhelming wins for the champ, Adesanya has come under fire from the community for overpromising and underdelivering. While he has retained the title multiple times, his point fighting style is not the most fan-friendly.
“His time is over,” Vettori said of Adesanya to Mirror Fighting. “I don’t even believe anybody really likes him. It’s over. His whole antics are bull****, he says one thing but never does it. He talks the talk but never walks the walk. I don’t want to look past this fight because it’s very important, but if things plan out the way I think they’re going to play out, you’re going to see me fight Pereira after this fight.”
Vettori believes Pereira will beat Adesanya
Many fans took to social media to express their discontentment with Adesanya for his lackluster performance in his latest title defense against Jared Cannonier at UFC 276. Following the win, Adesanya got paired up with a familiar foe in Alex Pereira, who already holds two wins including one knockout over “The Last Stylebender.” Vettori favors Pereira more and would like to face him for the title at some point.
“[Pereira] had a couple of extra years where he was just focusing on kickboxing, it might not seem a lot but once you just focus on one thing it’s a whole different story,” he added. “So I believe he has the advantage on the standup for sure, Adesanya’s not going to try and take him down, definitely not. I don’t mind this guy [Pereira], he’s quiet and brings it. There’s not much bull**** around him, I’d definitely prefer him as the champion than Adesanya.”
Do you agree with Marvin Vettori?
