Adesanya Vs, Vettori 2 Targeted For UFC 263

Reigning UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya is expected to defend his 185-pound title in a rematch with Marvin Vettori at UFC 263 on June 12, per a recent report by Combate.

As of now, UFC 263 has no official venue or location. That continues to be a work in progress, but UFC will likely opt to host the event in front of a live crowd making the choices limited.

Adesanya, who is coming off a decision loss to UFC light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz back at UFC 259, remains undefeated at 9-0 in the middleweight division. “Last Stylebender” may have come up short in his quest for two UFC belts, but the 31-year-old star is still one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world today. Adesanya already holds a decision win over Vettori from back in 2018 so this will be the champion’s first opportunity to defend his title in a rematch.

Vettori, 27, is 5-0 since his loss to Adesanya three years ago, including a recent main event beatdown over Kevin Holland earlier this month. The Italian contender has lobbied for this rematch with “Last Stylebender” for quite come time and believes he’s evolved enough to hand the champion his first loss at middleweight. Vettori will likely have to rely on his grappling skills that just earned him a middleweight-record 11 takedowns against Holland.

UFC 263 is also expected to feature a flyweight rematch between current champion Deiveson Figueiredo and top contender Brandon Moreno. The two flyweights fought to a draw back at UFC 256 in Dec. 2020.

For more UFC 263 fight card news click here.