Get up to date on the main event of UFC 263 between Israel Adesanya and Marvin Vettori.
The main event of UFC 263 will feature a flyweight title fight between current champion Deiveson Figueiredo (20-1-1, MMA 9-1-1 UFC) and top contender Brandon Moreno (18-5-2 MMA, 7-2-2 UFC). UFC 263: Adesanya vs Vettori 2 airs live from the Gila River Arena in Glendale, Arizona this Saturday, June 13th. The main card will start with a fight time of 10:00 p.m. ET / 7.00 p.m. PT, with the ESPN+ prelims beginning at 8:00 p.m. and the early prelims kicking off at 6:00 PM ET/3:00 PM PT.
How do these two stack up?
Adesanya: 31 years old | 6’4” | 80” reach
Vettori: 27 years old | 6’0” | 74” reach
What have these two done recently?
Adesanya: L- Jan Blachowicz (DEC) | W – Paulo Costa (TKO) | W – Yoel Romero (DEC)
Vettori: W – Kevin Holland (DEC) | W – Jack Hermansson (DEC) | W – Karl Roberson (SUB)
How did these two get here?
After 20 straight wins, Israel Adesanya suffered his first defeat in MMA to Jan Blachowicz at UFC 259 in March. Although unsuccessful in his effort to capture the light heavyweight title on that night, Adesanya will now return to the weight class in which he has virtually cleaned out. ‘The Last Stylebender’ has defeated some of the best middleweights on the UFC roster such as Robert Whittaker, Paulo Costa and Kelvin Gastelum. Adesanya will look for the same result against Vettori as their first fight, but this time in a more decisive manner.
The improvements Marvin Vettori has made since his 2018 loss to Adesanya are vast. It’s not just the wrestling department that ‘The Italian Dream’ has recently excelled in, as he showed Fight of the Night display against Jack Hermansson last December. Vettori is undefeated since losing to Adesanya with five straight wins bumping him up to #3 in the middleweight rankings. Although his win against Kevin Holland last April was not the most exciting by any means, if Vettori can implement the same gameplan at UFC 263 Adesanya will be in for a tough night.
Why should you care?
Vettori has made some huge improvements since his first fight with Adesanya. Also, with ‘The Last Stylebender’ coming off his first loss it will be interesting to see how he bounces back.