Marvin Vettori thinks Israel Adesanya's days at the top are over.
Adesanya (24-3 MMA, 13-3 UFC) announced his hiatus after losing his middleweight title to Sean Strickland at UFC 293 in September of this year.
But it looks like Adesanya's vacation won't last long. 'Stylebender' is expected to be the first title defense for UFC middleweight champion Drikas du Plessis, but Vettori doesn't think he will win that fight, or any fight against the upper echelons of the division. .
“Izzy will lose any fight,” Vettori told Schmo. “Even if he comes back, he's not going to win any fights. I'll tell you this. In the top three or four, he's not going to win any fights. If he's Khamzat (Chimaev) I don't think he can win either. He will be defeated, I think.
“I think even if he comes back, he's just going to lose. They're going to say I hate and shit, but it's true. This game is evolving very quickly. Grapple The level in the ring is just evolving, getting higher and higher, and I don't think he can hang. It's tough to take a year off from now.”
Vettori (19-6-1 MMA, 9-5-1 UFC) has lost to Adesanya twice, including once for the middleweight title at UFC 263. When asked if he was open to a trilogy, Vettori was unequivocal.
“Certainly,” Vettori said. “I'm not going anywhere. I'll be close by and I'll take a shot before that later.”
Vettori will face regular fighter Brendan Allen (23-5 MMA, 11-2 UFC) in the main event of UFC Fight Night on April 6th at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
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