UFC 263: Daniel Cormier Predicts Fireworks Between Israel Adesanya and Marvin Vettori

In the UFC there have been a handful of fighters who have been able to capture gold in two different weight classes. And even fewer who have done it simultaneously. Israel Adesanya aimed to become the 5th champ-champ at UFC 259 when he took on Jan Blachowicz for the light heavyweight belt. However, things did not go to plan for ‘The Last Style Bender’. 

Adesanya fell short against Blachowicz and succumbed to the first loss of his professional MMA career. Blachowicz exposed a gaping hole in Adesanya’s MMA game. One which his next opponent will be looking to expose in just under a month’s time when the two men face each other at UFC 263. 

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Daniel Cormier claims Israel Adesanya is ‘built different’ 

In a recent interview, The Schmo asked Cormier what kind of ‘Style bender’ he expects to show up at UFC 263 following his first loss as a professional. 

‘DC’ replied, “Same guy. I think Israel Adesanya is just built different. I don’t believe that this loss is going to affect him in the long term. I understand there are times when young fighters lose it messes with their psyche. I don’t feel that for Adesanya. I feel he is going to be as good as he always has been.”

The former two-division champion continued, “But the question is, Marvin Vettori is so dangerous. Is that good Adesanya going to be enough to beat Vettori with the style that he is able to bring into the octagon. And watching Vettori in the last fight against Kevin Holland, his ability to secure takedowns over five rounds makes it an even more interesting fight that than the one they had years ago.” 

Blachowicz was able to takedown Adesanya at will at UFC 259. He won the fight due to his ability to land takedowns and keep Adesanya pinned to the mat. Vettori will be aiming to utilize the same game plan to secure a win over Adesanya this time around. He averages 2.22 takedowns per 15 minutes and has an accuracy of 53% which will definitely play a big factor in the fight. 

It will be interesting to see how much Adesanya has worked on his takedown defense and ground game between his fights. It will most likely decide whether or not he retains his belt at UFC 263. 

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