The championship clash between the 2 middleweights at UFC 263 came to an end. The Last Stylebender won the bout against Marvin Vettori. Though Adesanya was the favorite, Vettori was unable to win a single round. Now, what exactly went wrong?
Certainly, Adesanya’s kickboxing skills were phenomenal in the match. His Leg kicks to Vettori throughout the match were crucial. Vettori couldn’t do anything to counter those kicks and started clinging against Adesanya.
Israel Adesanya defeated Marvin Vettori via unanimous decision (50-45, 50-45, 50-45).
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As predicted, Vettori’s strategy was play on ground and Israel’s was of a distance and range fight. But, every time Vettori tried to take down Israel, he found a way to get back to his feet, and that is probably what went against Marvin. In round three after taking down Israel, he tried for a leg lock. But, somehow Marvin got poked in his eyes, and the match restarted. That was the only time Marvin was better in the fight and his strategy failed.
Israel’s improved ground game against Marvin Vettori
The constant leg kicks throughout the fight by Israel made Vettori lose his fight. Every time Adesanya tried for a kick, he got one. Marvin didn’t address it, similarly as Conor Mcgregor did in his fight against Dustin Poirier and ended up losing. Moreover, Marvin also lacked in his submission and positional skills when his opportunities came up in the fight.
Marvin did took him down for a moment. But, the improvements that Israel showed in his ground game since their last fight changed the course of the match. Adesanya capitalized and reversed a couple of positions from the ground. Fight fans expected Marvin to do good on the ground. But, he was unable to deliver proper take downs, and even if he did at times, he was unable to hold the position against Israel.
Adesanya also played some “mocking” games against Vettori. Which did affect Marvin psychologically. The last Stylebender delivered on what he was expected for i.e range fighting. But, his improvement in takedown defense skills was the critical point for the fight which led to Marvin’s loss.
