“I’m going to be your worst f**king nightmare until the day you f**king retire”.
Marvin Vettori gave Israel Adesanya arguably his toughest fight to date at UFC on Fox 29, and the Italian middleweight feels he’s destined to beat ‘The Last Stylebender’ in a rematch.
Fresh off his unanimous decision over Jack Hermansson at UFC Vegas 16 this past Saturday, ‘The Italian Dream’ told Adesanya that he’s going to be his ‘worst f-cking nightmare’ until the day he retires.
“It’s just so nice to prove this guy wrong,” Vettori told MMA Fighting’s Damon Martin on Tuesday. “To kind of show him I’m right back in his face. I’m right here, motherf**ker. Just look in my eyes. I’m going to be your worst f**king nightmare until the day you f**king retire. That’s what it is.
“I’m sure he’s feeling it. He didn’t say nothing but he’s feeling the pressure. There’s nobody that’s coming out with such an overwhelming force in this division. With such hunger and will to become the champion. There’s nobody like this. He’s definitely feeling it. If I had to defend the belt against me, I would not feel calm, relaxed. I’d be feeling pretty stressed. I feel like he’s feeling that way, too.”
Vettori rocketed up the rankings to #5 following his win at UFC Vegas 16 and, although he’s already ready for a title shot, the 27-year-old is more than willing to prove his worth against former middleweight champ Robert Whittaker, who is the only other fighter in the top-five riding a win streak.
“Me and Whittaker, I would love the fight. I think legitimately [Whittaker is] the best after Israel and after me, the best in the division. He’s definitely a very good test. I would love to fight him. It will be good. In terms of legitimacy, I think that will be the most fair fight but a lot of times things they go in different ways. I don’t know. It also depends on what Israel is going to decide to do and what the UFC is going to decide to do with him. Like I said, I’m not going to pick and choose. They give me a couple of these guys, I’ll be right there. I’ll be right there ready to answer and f**k them all up.”
Reigning middleweight king Adesanya is expected to move up in weight to challenge Jan Blachowicz for the light heavyweight title but the bout has yet to be finalized. Expect an official announcement in the coming weeks.