“I want Adesanya next. October, I want to fight him”.
Marvin Vettori wants a title shot against Israel Adesanya following his unanimous decision win over Kevin Holland in the UFC Vegas 23 main event, calling for a rematch with the reigning UFC middleweight champion in October.
Vettori dropped a split decision to Adesanya back in 2018 but believes now is his time to shine. The rising UFC middleweight contender is disappointed he didn’t get the finish against Holland but believes it was enough to earn him the next title shot.
“Listen, I’m not too happy with what I did in there,” Vettori said during his post-fight interview (h/t MMA Fighting’s Damon Martin). “I wanted to finish this guy and I wasn’t able to but it was a dominant win. I’m not the happiest right now but I keep winning, I keep progressing and I do it dominantly.
“I want Adesanya next. October, I want to fight him. I think I deserve it. I have the longest win streak right now. I put on winning performances. Dominant performances. I want this title.”
Vettori has won five straight since his loss to Adesanya and has solidified himself as a top contender. His win over Holland wasn’t the prettiest, but ‘The Italian Dream’ proved last night that he has the work ethic and wrestling to hang with just about anyone in the top-five.
Adesanya is expected to move back to middleweight to defend his title following a failed bid to capture the light heavyweight title against Jan Blachowicz at UFC 259.