Marvin Vettori believes that UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya plays it safe in his fights.
Vettori (18-5-1 MMA, 8-3-1 UFC) now has fallen short twice to Adesanya (21-1 MMA, 10-1 UFC), most recently in a failed bid to capture the 185-pound title last June at UFC 263.
Adesanya defeated Vettori on the judges’ scorecards in both fights, and although their rematch was more lopsided, Vettori doesn’t respect the champ’s fighting style.
“The way Adesanya fights, he fights like a b*tch, bro,” Vettori said in an interview with EsNews. “I swear. He fought me like a b*tch. He fought Romero like a b*tch. When he knows, like he can’t really hurt a guy or nothing, he’ll fight like – he’ll fight, he’ll run, he’ll score. He’s like, ‘Oh, you got to beat me to become the champion.’ His mentality is not like, ‘I am the champion, I’m going to f*ck you up. That’s my f*cking (inaudible).’ He’s thinking like, ‘Oh, I’m gonna cruise. If you want to come and beat me, you’ll have to beat me.’ That’s how he thinks.”
Vettori thinks Adesanya doesn’t fight with a sense of urgency, which is why he’ll never acknowledge him as the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter.
“That, to me, will never be – he can’t be the pound-for-pound best,” Vettori added. “Pound-for-pound best is like, ‘You’re f*cking with the champion, this is my reign, I’m gonna destroy you.”
The 28-year-old Italian was able to rebound from his title loss to Adesanya by outlasting former title challenger Paulo Costa in a five-round war at UFC Fight Night 196 in October.
Marvin Vettori: Israel Adesanya can’t be pound-for-pound best because ‘he fights like a b*tch’
