Marvin Vettori Expected To Be UFC’s Next Middleweight Title Challenger
Marvin Vettori appears to have won his way into a middleweight title rematch against the champion, Israel Adesayna for his next bout.
Number one contender Robert Whittaker was expected to be Adesanya’s next opponent; but due to timing issues with the Australian, Vettori is the next man up for Adesanya’s next title defense.
UFC president Dana White made a recent appearance on the Bill Simmons Podcast and spoke about what’s next for the top of the UFC’s middleweight division.
“Rob Whittaker, who just fought on Saturday night, isn’t going to be ready to fight Israel Adesanya at the time Israel Adesanya wants to fight, so it’ll probably be Marvin Vettori first,” White confirmed.
Vettori earned the “next-man-up” title after dominating Kevin Holland just weeks ago at UFC on ABC 2, winning the fight by unanimous decision. Vettori was originally slated to take on Darren Till in a title eliminator bout, but Till pulled out just days before the fight due to an injury.
Vettori and Adesanya have battled once before when both men were making their rise through the UFC’s middleweight division. At UFC on FOX 29 in 2018, Adesanya squeaked out a split-decision victory over Vettori, who some believe was robbed after the decision was read out in the octagon.
White didn’t stop there with praising Vettori; saying “The Italian Dream” could be the next big megastar coming from a talent-rich Europe.
“Everybody who didn’t know UFC knows UFC now because of Conor McGregor,” White said. “This is what this guy will do for Italy.”
In terms of a timeframe of when the proposed fight will take place, White also said they are looking at booking the two middleweights for UFC 263 on June 12th, though nothing has been confirmed or formally announced just yet. The middleweight title fight could add to an already stacked summer series of fights for the UFC.
What do you think of Marvin Vettori getting the next UFC middleweight title shot against Israel Adesanya?
