Israel Adesanya vows to knock out trash-talking Italian Marvin Vettori
ISRAEL Adesanya has heard it all before.
He’s been labelled “overrated” and told the “hype isn’t real”.
But he’s got one to say to the critics, and in particular, a mouthy Italian Marvin Vettori.
“I’m knocking him out and I feel it’s going to be in the second round,” Adesanya declared ahead of his UFC Glendale bout in Arizona on Sunday
“With his, quote unquote ‘hard head’, he might get slept in the first. Either way, he’s going to sleep and he can keep dreaming.”
Vettori, 12-3-1, riled Adesanya with a series of taunts, claiming the Nigerian-born New Zealand native “has never fought a complete fighter with a head as hard as marble like me”.
“I will do whatever I want with him,” Vettori added.
“I have no problem standing and striking with him, but this is MMA. I will bring him down at the right time, and when we’re on the ground, I will have a huge advantage. I’ll press him to death. I want to see how he fights going backwards.”
Speaking from his hotel in Arizona, Adesanya responded in typical style.
“They all say the same thing before they step in there with me and then they realise it’s a different thing. Easier said than done,” Adesanya said.
“If he wants to stand with me and test how hard his marble head is, I’m happy to obliged and I’ll ping that thing all night.
“He likes to be a striker, but I wouldn’t advise that against me. If he wants to strike with me, he’s going to have to rethink that in about a minute of the fight.”
Fighting in the UFC octagon for just the second time, Adesanya has won all of his 12 MMA bouts via KO or TKO.
The 28-year-old maiden fight in Perth was over quickly, finishing Australian Rob Wilkinson with vicious knees and punches in Round 2.
Vettori has mixed results in the UFC, recording two wins, a loss and a draw.
In his last appearance, “The Italian Dream” managed a draw against Omari Akhmedov in UFC 219 in December.
Adesanya is the clear favourite with the bookies, $1.36 against $3.25, but Vettori is having none of it.
“He’s overrated, and many people have been fooled by the hype,” Vettori told Sherdog.
“All this is in my favour. I feel no pressure. Whoever wants to bet on me because they believe in me will win easy money. I have a couple of tricks you’ll see. He’s a good striker if you just let him do what he does best. I won’t.”
Adesanya claimed there’s plenty of false bravado from Vettori.
“It’s the same song and it’s nothing new to me,” Adesanya said.
“He’ll see when he’s in there. You always see pre-fight and post-fight how they are.
“Pre-fight they are always confident — and you have to be in this game — but let’s not kid ourselves, there’s levels to this and he’s levels below me and eventually he’ll find out why he’s the chicken and I’m the eagle.”
Adesanya admits he is wary of Vettori’s well-rounded ground game, but stressed he should not be underestimated on the mat.
“I understand people think I’m just a kickboxer, but I’m not going to come into the UFC, the biggest stage in combat sports, unprepared,” Adesanya said.
“It took me a while to get to the UFC and it was my own doing because I was getting ready to fight the best in the world.
“As I said, within a minute if he starts shooting for take-downs he’s going to realise he f---ed up and he’s going to know what my ground game is about.”
Scheduled at the pointy end of the card — behind only co-main event between Carlos Condit and Alex Oliveira and the showpiece bout featuring Dustin Poirier and Justin Gaethje — Adesanya is confident his positioning is a sign of things to come.
“This is what I’m going to be doing eventually ... being the main event, fighting late, so I guess I’m getting used to it early on,” he said.
“I’m one UFC fight in and they’re already putting me on the main card. The company has an eye on me. I’m privileged to be here.
“I’ll smack this guy and then maybe they’ll give me a ranked opponent. I’ve just got to keep moving forward, chasing the cheques, get these bonus. That’s what I’m about.”
