UFC 263 PREVIEW: Adesanya vs Vettori 2 Date:Sat, Jun 12 Venue: Gila River Arena

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We had 2 pretty uneventful weeks in the world of UFC and fighting, Rozenstruik defeated Sakai last week, and Mayweather made truck load of cash fighting a youtuber in an exhibition fight, we can finally get back to business, with a meaty event this weekend, UFC 263.

The main card is quite attractive, with a rematch between the current champion Israel Adesanya facing "The Italian Dream" Marvin Vettori, that greatly improved since their last bought, but will it be enough?
We also have another competitive rematch between Deveison Figuereido and Brandon Moreno, their last fight was a draw, mainly because of a point deducted due to a groin strike by Figuereido, and he will have something to prove, while Moreno could very shock the world.

Finally, an interesting matchup with Leon Edwards facing fan favourite Nate Diaz, hopefully Nate will be in for a fight, and Edwards will stop being cursed.

Middleweight·Main event

Israel Adesanya (20-1-0) vs. Marvin Vettori (17-4-1)

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Detractors might think that this fight doesn't make sense, that we've already seen enough during their first encounter, and it's true that at first glance, the main event doesn't seem that exciting but we also know that MMA math don't always add up, and these aren't the same fighters that faced each other in 2018.

First, Izzy wasn't champion the last time around, he faced Vettori during his second UFC fight, and it's pretty clear how much the champ evolved since their encounter, his last win against Paolo Costa via TKO is a true testimony of his improvement. He could very well dispose of the Italian fighter, with the same magnitude. During their first fight, he was clearly too slow compared to Israel, and that was clearly frustrating him during their exchanges.
However, I can't help but think that his loss against the current Light Heavyweight Jan Błachowicz could affect his confidence, it's really difficult to know what's happening in a fighter's head after a loss, but Jan might have provided the blueprint to beat the Nigerian champion.

Marvin actually took Izzy down during their first fight, and even if he managed to get back up right away, the thought is here, and it will have an incidence on the grappling. While Marvin improved quite consequently, so did The Last Stylebender especially his take down defence, does Marvin has what it takes to beat Izzy?

I wouldn't be so sure, there is a moment in their first fight that comes to mind, I can't recall the round.
Israel was bloody fast, and kept on popping that jab. Eventually, Marvin was so out of it and getting busted up, he mistook a punch for an eye poke he started complaining to the ref.

I think, that Israel have his number, and will be able to frustrate him throughout the rounds. If Marvin base his strategy on wrestling (a bit like he did the first time around), he might have a chance to win it in the earlier rounds. but I don't see him winning to decision though.

Flyweight·Co-main

Deiveson Figueiredo (20 -1-1) vs. Brandon Moreno (8-5-2)

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Did you know that the flyweight division is actually fucking amazing? Do you remember their first fight?

If you don't remember their first fight that ended as a majority draw, here is a refresher:

That was cool right? If you haven't watched the video, to sum up, it was a grueling 5 rounds fight, Figueiredo clearly won the fight, but the groin strike really affected the judges decision.
We learnt during the fight how resilient Moreno is, especially against these eyes pokes, I guess we learnt that Figueiredo is a dirty fighter and won't hesitate to groin strike and eye poke you.

I still think that all in all, Deiveson is probably a better fighter, with a wider range of tools, more complete, but Moreno will have more time to get ready this time around, they will certainly give us a fight as entertaining as the first,

Welterweight

Leon Edwards (18 - 3 - 0 , 1NC) vs. Nate Diaz (21 - 12 - 0)

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Any pugilat involving Nathan Diaz will attract the masses, it's pure fact. Just check the last press conference, homie lit up a joint and the crowd went wild, we all completely forgot about the main event:

I gotta be honest, he is facing a monster: Leon Edward is probably champion material, and will dominate Nate Diaz in all area of the game. I think it's great for Leon, he will be able to showcase his skills, get a big payday, and maybe now the casuals might know who he is, and makes us forget about his eye poke incident in his last fight.
Unless we see some major upset with a triangle choke from bottom position (I am calling it!) by Nate, it's gonna be a long day at the office for him, and we might see another doctor stoppage. Smoke on homie! You deserved it!

Welterweight

Demian Maia (28-10-0) vs. Belal Muhammad (28-03-0)

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It might be Demian's last fight in the UFC, let's enjoy watching the expert grappler one last time. Or is it?

He admitted himself in recent interviews, that if he wins against Bilal Muhammad, he might not hang his gloves yet.

"Depends how I am gonna perform in this fight. I'm feeling great and I'm performing well during my training camp. And you know, feeling great. But there is a thing about MMA, you don't really know how you are gonna perform inside the cage. So, when I'm there and I think I would perform great but you know, a fight's a fight. But if I do perform well, I would like to do more fights. At least one more fight for sure."
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It's a tough call, Damien did look in shape in recent fights, and I don't think he took too much damage, a win against Muhammad would be really impressive and gives him a reason to continue fighting. I wrote before about Bilal, let's just watch a refresher:

After the unfortunate eye poke against Leon Edwards, Belal will be eager to prove all the naysayers wrong.
That's definitely an interesting matchup, I think Belal might be too strong for Damien, but let's not forget the Brazilian fighter used to fight as a middleweight, and is used to handle big guys.

Light Heavyweight

Paul Craig (14-4-1) vs. Jamaha lHill (8-0-0,1NC)

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I've been on the Paul Craig bandwagon since his Triangle choke against Ankalaev, and other Dagestanis:

Once again, there is nothing better than a fan film to demonstrate a point. This mofo, is truly unique, find ways to win in the worst moments, and it takes someone really special to do that. He is fighting someone that I am truly unfamiliar with, but there seems to be some true animosity between those two, that's gonna be fun.

Lightweight

Drew Dober (23 - 10 - 0,, 1NC ) vs Brad Riddell (9 - 1 - 0)

I think Drew Dober got this! I will come back eat my words if it's not the case 🙂

Prelims and Early Prelims

Light Heavyweight
Eryk Anders (13-5-0, 1N)vs. Darren Stewart (12-6-0 , 2NC)
Women Flyweight
Lauren Murphy (14-4-0) vs. Joanne Calderwood (15-5-0)
Featherweight
Movsar Evloev (14-0-0) vs. Hakeem Dawodu (12-1-1)
Women Bantamweight
Pannie Kianzad (15-5-0) vs. Alexis Davis (20-10-0)
Lightweight
Frank Camacho (22-9-0) vs. Matt Frevola (8-2-1)
Featherweight
Chase Hooper (10-1-1) vs. Steven Peterson (18-9-0)
Lightweight
Fares Ziam 11 - 3 - 0vs. Luigi Vendramini 9 - 1 - 0
Heavyweight
Carlos Felipe 10 - 1 - 0 vs. Jake Collier 2 - 5 - 0