Midnight Mania! Vettori Still Chasing ‘Stylebender,’ ‘He Wasn’t Better At All’

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Marvin Vettori spent three years chasing a rematch with Israel Adesanya. For literal years, Vettori would tell anyone who listened or happened to be within shouting distance that Adesanya was lucky the split-decision went his way, and that he was the man to dethrone the kickboxer.

Well, it didn’t exactly turn out that way. Adesanya cruised his way to a second victory over the Italian, denying the majority of his takedown attempts and far out-landing him on the feet (HIGHLIGHTS). Despite the definitive outcome, Vettori believes there’s an argument that he won the rematch, and he still sees himself as the better man.

“He was very smart in there and he fought a very smart fight,” Vettori said. “With that being said, he wasn’t better. He wasn’t better at all in general. He wasn’t more skilled, he didn’t have more cardio, he didn’t have more like anything, really. He was smart. He knew he was a champion. He didn’t really want to engage with me in a lot of things. Exchanges in general. One thing he was good at, he was able to play the crowd and kind of like almost be his own cornering in a sense. He had his own cornering, obviously, but he also had his like, he was his own corner. He was able to see the situation a little bit more from outside, from a third eye, almost.

“I did I mistake I think that maybe it was because it was the first time in front of the crowd for a while, or for a number of reasons. But with that being said, he used that to his advantage. Meanwhile, I didn’t use it or almost I let it played against me because I had like blinders on. That, most of the time would be the right thing to do. But in a situation like this it’s not. Especially when you’re fighting for a title.”

Vettori is currently slated to face Paulo Costa in the main event of UFC Vegas 41 next weekend (Sat. Oct. 23, 2021). If he’s able to knock off the No. 2-ranked Middleweight contender and return to the win column, Vettori is back in the title mix, though it will take more than one win to convince anyone that a trilogy match vs. “Stylebender” is necessary.

Insomnia

MORE BEEF between Ariel Helwani and fighters, this time involving Belal Muhammad. What a strange week it’s been …

Something of an update on Zabit Magomedsharipov’s condition:

In case you were unaware, Jim Miller is a legend. Jersey tough!

Charles Oliveira issues a response to the critics who still think its 2015, such as Justin Gaethje.

Welterweight banger alert!

Jon Jones is showing his personal growth by angrily DM’ing at least one of the many people criticizing his recent actions.

It’s looking really likely that Paul Felder makes a return …

Slips, rips, and KO clips

I don’t think I’ve posted this Team MMA clip before, but the chaos does kind of blend together. Either way, enjoy!

A ridiculous, high-flying knockout:

Giorgio Petrosyan was not the only man stopped (HIGHLIGHTS!) at the One Championship event earlier today.

Random Land

Standing in the splash zone seems a questionable move.

Midnight Music: Today is a good day. Seven years after its initial release in 2014, Mac Miller’s drugged out mixtape Faces has officially made its way to streaming services. A dark and intimate journey into addiction, it’s likely to stand the test of time as the Mac Miller record.

Sleep well Maniacs! More martial arts madness is always on the way.