Marvin Vettori also known as ‘The Italian Dream’ has earned an opportunity to become the first Italian UFC champion as he takes on Israel Adesanya at UFC 263. However, ‘The Italian’ got this opportunity because Robert Whitaker wasn’t ready to take up the fight. Nonetheless, Marvin Vettori is coming off a hot 5 win streak.
In his last fight against Kevin Holland, the Italian showed an excellent grappling display as he dominated the entire match by winning all 5 rounds. The Italian scored 11 takedowns against Kevin Holland which was a new UFC middleweight record. He also ended the fight with a control time of 20 minutes. But, Vettori has a huge challenge ahead of him at UFC 263.
While speaking to ESPN journalist Brett Okamoto, ‘The Italian Dream’ expressed his thoughts about his next fight against Israel Adesanya. “I feel the best I have ever felt technically. I’m coming to conquer, I’m coming to win that belt and I’m coming to be the first Italian UFC champion ever.” Marvin Vettori is waiting to surprise everyone that doubts him on June 12 at UFC 263. Moreover, he reckons that Adesanya will always be a step behind him. This is because ‘The Italian’ thinks that ‘The Last Stylebender’ will prepare by watching his last fight.
How much has Marvin Vettori improved since their first fight?
There is a significant improvement in Marvin Vettori’s fighting style after their last face-off. He seems more determined and looks more matured in his approach to the fights. The Italian tries to play with his strengths and does not rush in emotionally as he did against Adesanya in their first fight. He has developed his grappling skills and has started to take much better decisions during the fight.
While speaking to Brett Okamoto, The Italian Dream shared his experience from his previous fight against ‘The Last Stylebender’. “I remember him being sweaty as hell, like being able to just move my grips because he was so skinny and slippery. Even all this camp I have been training shirtless in everything that I did and in every grappling. Because it’s different for the shirt and when you have a grip on shorts and it’s different being shirtless with a lot of sweat on, plus he is skinny so the grip feels different.” ‘The Italian Dream’ is super confident and has predicted that he will either knock the champion out or will win every round of the fight.
Therefore Fight week will be very interesting as there will be a lot of mind games played in the press conference or during the weigh-ins before the fight. Marvin Vettori looks to be very confident about beating Israel Adesanya and history could be created if the fight goes according to his prediction.
Also read: Robbery? Looking Back at the Controversial Decision During Israel Adesanya vs Marvin Vettori
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