Marvin Vettori stormed off after Israel Adesanya was announced as the winner of their bout in Arizona. Photo / Getty Images
Marvin Vettori stormed off after Israel Adesanya was announced as the winner of their bout in Arizona. Photo / Getty Images
Italian UFC fighter Marvin Vettori has not taken his defeat to Kiwi Israel Adesanya well.
Adesanya maintained his unbeaten record in Arizona against Vettori last week, with the split decision win taking him to 13-0-0 (2-0-0 UFC).
Vettori, now 12-4-1 (2-2-1 UFC), was visibly upset when the result of thefight was announced in the octagon, and hasn't cooled off. In an interview with MMA Junkie, Vettori insisted he won the fight, but it's Adesanya's antics that really struck a chord with the 24-year-old.
"He's like a double-faced piece of crap. That's what he is," Vettori said.
It was clear Vettori won the third round of the bout, while Adesanya dominated the second. The result fell to the opening round, in which Adesanya out-struck his Italian counterpart 25-18, while Vettori failed in both his takedown attempts.
Israel Adesanya tags Marvin Vettori during their UFC bout in Arizona. Photo / Getty Images
The Italian said the judges were influenced by the hype Adesanya had come into the UFC with, but claimed the Nigerian-born Adesanya had "conceded defeat" before the result was announced.
"After the fight, he knew he lost; he really knew he lost," Vettori said. "He came up and told me, 'We'll do it again. Don't worry. We're going to meet again.' He was looking all kind of like beaten. His mind was beaten. He was humbled a lot by my performance against him, then right after he goes out and talks s*** on media. That's what pissed me off."
Adesanya responded to Vettori's comments in an interview with Submission Radio, and said the Italian deserved an Oscar for the way he performed when the result was announced.
"The way he stormed out of the cage...bravo, his acting chops were on" Adesanya said. "What's he going to do? He couldn't even walk, I beat the f*** out of his front leg...this is just keyboard warrior s***."
Looking to remain active this year, Adesanya called out Hawaiian Brad Tavares, the UFC's No10 ranked middleweight fighter, after beating Vettori. He said it had nothing to do with having anything against Tavares, who also picked up a win in Arizona on the same night, and as simply about wanting to take on the best fighters.
"When we shook each other's hands there was like a mutual respect of 'you're in my weight class. I'll see you'."
Adesanya might have to wait to meet Tavares, though, with the Hawaiian calling out UFC veteran and former middleweight champion Michael Bisping after his bout in Arizona.
