11 Jun 2021

Adesanya readies to defend UFC middleweight belt in Arizona

From Checkpoint, 6:24 pm on 11 June 2021

The motivation is three-fold for New Zealand mixed martial arts world champion Israel Adesanya heading into his latest title defence this weekend.

Adesanya defends his middleweight belt against Italian Marvin Vettori at UFC 263 in Arizona.

The Kiwi comes into the bout fresh from his first loss in professional MMA - unsuccessfully moving up a division in an attempt to claim a second world title in March.

As Clay Wilson reports, that defeat isn't the only reason for the added edge to Adesanya's preparation for Sunday's fight.