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ATLANTA, GA – APRIL 13: (L-R) UFC President Dana White places the interim middleweight championship belt on Israel Adesanya after defeating Kelvin Gastelum by unanimous decision in their interim middleweight championship bout during the UFC 236 event at State Farm Arena on April 13, 2019 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
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ATLANTA, GA – APRIL 13: (L-R) UFC President Dana White places the interim middleweight championship belt on Israel Adesanya after defeating Kelvin Gastelum by unanimous decision in their interim middleweight championship bout during the UFC 236 event at State Farm Arena on April 13, 2019 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
UFC middleweight champion, Israel Adesanya, returns to action next weekend as he faces Marvin Vettori in the main event of the pay-per-view. ‘The Last Stylebender’ will look to defend his belt for the third time against ‘The Italian Dream’. Also, Izzy will be determined to put his first career loss against light-heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz behind him.
Adesanya came into the UFC as a promising star. He had been a sensational kickboxer before turning to MMA. After competing in the regional promotions in MMA, Adesanya finally made it to the UFC in 2018. He stopped Rob Wilkinson in his first fight and earned a split decision over Vettori in his second outing in the promotion.
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Although his win against Vettori in 2018 wasn’t his most impressive performance, UFC President Dana White saw enough to know that Adesanya had the potential to be a superstar. After the fight, White said, “He looked Human tonight. But he’s very, very good.”
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Adesanya remembers that time and recalled how the UFC President knew all along that bigger things are coming from ‘The Last Stylebender’. “I’m really glad that Dana White didn’t shy away from what he knew, what he saw in me. Dana White saw that this guy, he’s something. So my next fight put me in a main event against Brad Tavares. I showed out 5-0. I silenced all the haters. And that was that,” said the middleweight champion.
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MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA – OCTOBER 06: Israel Adesanya makes his way to the Octagon for the Middleweight title bout during UFC 243 at Marvel Stadium on October 06, 2019 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Darrian Traynor/Getty Images)
Adesanya was part of a UFC main event in his next fight against Brad Tavares. He won a dominant decision over the course of 5 rounds against Tavares.
Israel Adesanya vs Marvin Vettori 2: What to expect?
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The champion will be sharper than ever after suffering his first career loss in a different division. Although Vettori looks to be on a roll, Izzy has proven to be head and shoulders above the rest of the 185 lbs division.
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LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – JULY 05: UFC interim middleweight champion Israel Adesanya of New Zealand poses for the media during the UFC seasonal press conference at T-Mobile Arena on July 5, 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
Nevertheless, the bad blood is there between the two. That only adds to the fans’ anticipation for the event. One will have to wait and see how things unfold when the duo clashes next weekend.
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Who gets it done? Izzy or Vettori? Let us know.
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