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Israel Adesanya, Marvin Vettori set for UFC 263 title-fight rematch

Nolan King
·2 min read
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UFC middle weight champion Israel Adesanya and Marvin Vettori will meet again this summer.

Adesanya (20-1 MMA, 9-1 UFC) will defend his title June 12 against Vettori (17-4-1 MMA, 7-2-1 UFC), joining the UFC 263 lineup as the second title rematch, the other being flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo vs. Brandon Moreno.

UFC president Dana White announced the news to broadcast partner ESPN on Saturday after an initial report from Combate.

Adesanya and Vettori first met at UFC on FOX 29 in April 2018. In his second promotional appearance, Adesanya defeated Vettori by split decision.

Over the past three years, the two fighters have taken different journeys to UFC 263. Adesanya went on to win the interim UFC middleweight championship against Kelvin Gastelum, then defeated Robert Whittaker to unify the title. He defended his 185-pound title against Yoel Romero and Paulo Costa before losing a unanimous decision to Jan Blachowicz in a light heavyweight title challenge last month.

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Meanwhile, Vettori has gone unbeaten since the loss to Adesanya with consecutive victories over Cezar Ferreira, Andrew Sanchez, Karl Roberson, Jack Hermansson and, most recently, Kevin Holland.

UFC president Dana White recently revealed the promotion was leaning in the direction of Vettori over Whittaker, as the former champion would not be ready in time.

“It’s looking like Rob Whittaker, who just fought on Saturday night, isn’t going to be ready to fight Israel Adesanya at the time Israel Adesanya wants to fight, so it’ll probably be Marvin Vettori first,” White said on “The Bill Simmons Podcast.”

According to the ESPN report, Whittaker will fight the winner of Adesanya vs. Vettori.

The latest UFC 263 lineup now includes:

  • Champion Israel Adesanya vs. Marvin Vettori – for middleweight title

  • Champion Deiveson Figueiredo vs. Brandon Moreno – for flyweight title

  • Jake Collier vs. Carlos Felipe

  • Luigi Vendramini vs. Fares Ziam

  • Hakeem Dawodu vs. Movsar Evloev

  • Sijara Eubanks vs. Karol Rosa

  • Paul Craig vs. Jamahal Hill

  • Joanne Calderwood vs. Lauren Murphy

  • Demian Maia vs. Belal Muhammad

  • Frank Camacho vs. Matt Frevola

  • Drew Dober vs. Brad Riddell