No. 3-ranked middleweight contender Marvin Vettori is still bitter about his split-decision loss to Israel Adesanya at the UFC on FOX 29 event back in April 2018, which is probably why ”The Italian Dream” has been yapping about it ever since.
In fact, “The Last Stylebender” suggests that Vettori is more proud of his loss to the current 185-pound titleholder than he is of any UFC win to date, which includes names like Jack Hermansson and Kevin Holland, among others.
“Kamaru (Usman) just gave him a little taste of what it’s like when you already know the person,” Adesanya said on his official YouTube channel (transcribed by MMA Junkie). “You know you have their number, and he’s still holding onto that fucking single leg, like he’s holding onto that loss. So proud of that loss. He’s holding onto that loss better than his best wins, so I’m in his head, rent-free, camping.”
Since they first met, Vettori captured five straight against solid but not otherworldly competition. Adesanya, meanwhile, won seven consecutive fights, turning away the likes of Robert Whittaker and Paulo Costa along the way.
It’s up to Vettori to prove his “Stylebender” loss should have been scored in his favor when they rematch in the UFC 263 pay-per-view (PPV) main event on June 12 inside the promotion’s APEX facility in Las Vegas, Nevada.