GLENDALE, Ariz. — Israel Adesanya rotated his right hand and cupped it near his ear, a gesture pro wrestling legend Hulk Hogan used to use to elicit cheers from the crowd. Marvin Vettori was desperately trying to take Adesanya down against the cage at the end of the fourth round.
Adesanya’s taunt drew chatter from the fans, but it was more of a symbol. He was in full control of the bout.
In a rematch of one of Adesanya’s toughest middleweight tests, Adesanya removed all prior doubt, beating Vettori via unanimous decision (50-45, 50-45, 50-45) in the main event of UFC 263 on Saturday night at a sold-out Gila River Arena.
With the victory, Adesanya successfully defended his UFC middleweight title. He evaded most of Vettori’s big swings and takedowns, chopped him down with leg kicks and outboxed him with his hands.
Afterward, Adesanya said Vettori told him in the Octagon at the end of the bout that he believed he won.
“You can keep thinking that,” Adesanya said he replied to Vettori in his postfight interview. “Whatever helps you sleep at night.”
Adesanya said he dedicated the win to his late training partner and friend, Fau Vake, who died last month from injuries he suffered in an alleged assault.
On April 14, 2018, Adesanya defeated Vettori by split decision, a close fight that was one of Adesanya’s most difficult en route to the title. Vettori believed he won that bout, which was the storyline coming into Saturday. Adesanya and Vettori were vicious in verbal attacks Thursday at the prefight news conference, with Vettori having to be physically removed from the stage after he went after Adesanya.
“Even at the press conference when he stood up, I sat down because I didn’t feel a threat,” Adesanya said.
Adesanya came in ranked No. 3 on ESPN’s pound-for-pound male MMA fighters list. At middleweight, Adesanya was No. 1 and Vettori, the hottest fighter in the division before Saturday night’s fight, was No. 6.
Adesanya (21-1) picked up his third successful middleweight title defense. The Nigerian-born New Zealand resident is undefeated in the weight class. He became undisputed champion by knockout out Robert Whittaker in October 2019. Adesanya, 31, was coming off a loss to Blachowicz in a UFC light heavyweight title fight at UFC 259 on March 6. In his last middleweight title defense, Adesanya outclassed Costa, stopping him via second-round TKO at UFC 253 last September.
In his postfight interview, Adesanya said he wants a rematch with the streaking Whittaker in Auckland, New Zealand. Whittaker lives in Australia.
“You don’t get to decide — I get to decide,” Adesanya said. “Because I’m the mother f—ing king, b—-!”
Vettori (17-5-1) saw his five-fight winning streak snapped. Coming into Saturday’s fight, the Italy native had not lost since the first bout with Adesanya in April 2018. Vettori, 27, was coming off a unanimous-decision win over Kevin Holland in April. He was attempting to become the first Italian-born fighter to win a UFC title.