UFC middleweight Marvin Vettori has responded to compliments from Michael Bisping about his championship credentials, promising that he’ll be the one to dethrone “PED user” Israel Adesanya.
Vettori has already failed to strip Adesanya of his gold on one occasion and failed to have his hand raised at two attempts against “The Last Stylebender.” After falling to a split decision to the Nigerian-New Zealander in 2018 when both were relatively new to the UFC, “The Italian Dream” fought his way to the top, earning a title shot following victories over Karl Roberson, Jack Hermansson, and Kevin Holland.
In the UFC 263 main event in June this year, Vettori re-visited his rivalry with Adesanya. While he was able to take the champ the 25-minute distance, which was more than both Robert Whittaker and Paulo Costa had managed, the 28-year-old was comfortably beaten on the scorecards.
But the Trento native’s hopes of returning to contention couldn’t have gotten off to a better start. After showing his toughness by accepting a light heavyweight clash against an overweight Costa, Vettori put his power and chin on full display across five rounds with “The Eraser” at UFC Vegas 41. Thanks to a pressing volume and some clean lands, Vettori jumped to #2 in the rankings with a unanimous decision victory over the Brazilian.
Discussing that performance during a recent Q&A on his YouTube channel, Bisping, a former 185-pound titleholder and current color commentator, suggested Vettori would be the current middleweight king if it wasn’t for the presence of Adesanya.
“If it wasn’t for Israel Adesanya right now, he’d (Vettori) be the champ, definitely… He’s the next best guy at 185 in my opinion, he’s doing tremendous things. I’m a friend of Marvin’s, I think he’s tremendous. That fight he had against Paulo Costa was sensational. I called that fight, I was right there, he won that fight fair and square but Paulo Costa had a lot of success and some of the shots that Marvin ate, some of those kicks and punches and the power that Costa has, Marvin took every single fucking one of them.” (h/t Sportskeeda)
Vettori Responds With A Promise
Upon seeing Bisping’s take, Vettori took to Twitter to respond. After showing his appreciation for “The Count,” the top contender made a promise. He assured Bisping that he’ll still be the one to end Adesanya’s reign, despite failing to do so six months ago.
He also slammed the reigning titleholder, accusing him of using performance-enhancing drugs, a sentiment that began to be shared after Adesanya’s right pectoral muscle became noticeably swollen.
“Appreciate it @Bisping Im still gonna show you I will dethrone this PED user very soon.”
While he undoubtedly impressed in his last outing and established himself as one of the top contenders, it’ll likely be a while until Vettori has another chance at having middleweight gold wrapped around his waist.
Adesanya is next set to run it back with former champ Whittaker at UFC 271 in February. On the same card, Derek Brunson and Jared Cannonier are expected to collide to determine the next number one contender.
With his reluctance to serve as backup for Adesanya vs. Whittaker 2, it seems “The Italian Dream” will be spending 2022 looking to secure another championship opportunity for the following year.
Do you think Marvin Vettori has what it takes to beat Israel Adesanya if the pair run it back down the line?