Israel Adesanya will put his UFC title on the line this weekend. Photo / Getty Images
Israel Adesanya will put his UFC title on the line this weekend. Photo / Getty Images
When Israel Adesanya beat Marvin Vettori in 2018, he wasn't happy with his performance but felt he had done enough to win the fight.
Of the three judges scoring it, one didn't agree with him – scoring the bout for Vettori, meaning Adesanya claimed a split decision win.
When thepair meet against in Arizona on Sunday at UFC 263 with the middleweight title on the line, Adesanya plans on leaving no doubt about the result.
"This weekend, you won't need the judges," Adesanya said.
Israel Adesanya beat Marvin Vettori by split decision in 2018. Photo / Getty Images
Since their last meeting, Adesanya has gone on to clinch the middleweight title, winning all seven of his bouts at middleweight since that encounter, including three by stoppage. All of his opponents since the 2018 meeting with Vettori have been ranked in the top 15 at the time Adesanya fought them, with six of those in the division's top 10.
Vettori hasn't lost since his defeat at the hands of Adesanya, stringing together five straight wins. He has only faced two ranked opponents, but both were in the top 10 at the time of their bouts.
For the first time in his mixed martial arts career, Adesanya will be coming in on the back of a loss, after coming up short in his bid to capture the light heavyweight title against Jan Blachowicz earlier in the year.
Adesanya said coming into his fight against Vettori felt a lot like his title defence against Paulo Costa at UFC 253 last September, which was his first fight after what many labelled as a lacklustre win against Yoel Romero at UFC 248.
Israel Adesanya will put his UFC title on the line this weekend. Photo / Getty Images
"Remember what happened after UFC 248 and I said 'y'all must have forgot'?" Adesanya said. "I went over to Abu Dhabi, to fight on a private island in front of billionaires and I f***ed (Paulo Costa) up. I'm going to do the same thing this weekend.
"I'm going to f*** this dude up. Trust."
The rematch between Adesanya and Vettori will headline the card in Arizona this Sunday, and will be one of two title fights on the card with the men's flyweight title also on the line in a rematch between champion Deiveson Figueiredo and Brandon Moreno.
Fellow Kiwi Brad Riddell, who is one of Adesanya's teammates from Auckland's City Kickboxing gym, will also compete at UFC 263. The 29-year-old lightweight will get his first shot at a ranked fighter when he steps into the octagon against fellow striker Drew Dober, who is ranked No 13 in the lightweight division.
While Adesanya's bout headlines the pay-per-view card, Riddell will fight in the featured preliminary bout – which is the last to play out before the broadcast switches to the pay-per-view section of the card.
