Marvin Vettori thinks Israel Adesanya’s time on top is over.
Adesanya (24-3 MMA, 13-3 UFC) lost his middleweight title in an upset to Sean Strickland (28-5 MMA, 15-5 UFC) this past Saturday at UFC 293. “The Stylebender” was dropped in Round 1, and ended up losing a decisive unanimous decision.
It’s no secret that former foe Vettori is not an Adesanya fan, but like a few other analysts have said, he’d like to see the division move on.
“I just don’t like this guy. Can I not like this guy? I don’t f*cking like this guy, so I personally think that he doesn’t deserve a f*cking rematch,” Vettori said on the Dream Rare Podcast. “Why? I don’t even think he wants a rematch. He felt like – he’s going to lose again, so I don’t even think like he wants the rematch right now.
“I mean like let’s see what Sean will do as the champ. He shook up the division and I think (Dricus) Du Plessis is on the line. He beat up (Robert) Whittaker the way he did, you cannot deny him a f*cking title shot man, way more than Adesanya. I think that’s also a very good fight for Strickland.”
Vettori, who’s coming off a loss to Jared Cannonier, thinks “The Killa Gorilla” should also be in the running for a title shot. Cannonier weighed in as a backup for Strickland vs. Adesanya, and also holds a recent win over Strickland.
Regardless of who’s next for Strickland, Vettori thinks Adesanya’s time as middleweight champion is over.
“Oh! f*cking Jared – Jared too,” Vettori said. “They will come at me for sure: ‘You’re salty,’ this and that. I think Adesanya’s time is over. It’s passed, so we’ll see. But I don’t think that rematch would even sell. I don’t know. Definitely, I would be way more excited to see Strickland and Du Plessis or even a rematch with Cannonier, and down the road who f*cking knows.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 293.
