Israel Adesanya Puts Eight-Year Feud Aside As He Backs Rival Ahead of UFC Return – ‘I Want Him To Win’

Previously, the two argued over the split- decision result of their first fight for years and traded plenty of shots outside the Octagon. Ahead of the Italian’s UFC 332 return, Adesanya has put the old rivalry to one side. The reason is simple:

Vettori has been through a lot since the last time they shared the cage, including the death of his younger brother in a house fire. With the 33-year-old now trying to revive his UFC career, Adesanya says he genuinely hopes his old rival gets back to the win column. 

Israel Adesanya Rooting for Marvin Vettori to Bounce Back

A lot has changed since Vettori first met “The Last Stylebender.” After losing their first meeting by split decision, “The Italian Dream” bounced back with five straight wins to earn another shot at Adesanya at UFC 263. This time, however, there was no controversy on the scorecards. Adesanya won a unanimous decision to retain his middleweight title and make it two wins over Vettori.

The rivalry never faded entirely. Vettori continued to take shots at his former opponent over the years, even after their second fight settled things inside the Octagon.

Now, the two find themselves in a surprisingly similar place. Both are coming off four straight losses, with Vettori also carrying the weight of losing his younger brother in a house fire last year.

Marvin Vettori Turns Page at UFC 332

For Vettori, however, the next chapter begins at UFC 332, where he will try to snap that skid against Ismail Naurdiev. This time, Adesanya, who has lost the title since, says that the beef is settled, at least from his end. 

Speaking about his longtime rival on this YouTube channel, Adesanya said, “I think he still hates me. I don’t know why. I mean, it’s obvious… Every other- like twice a year, he’ll take shots at me for no reason. But nah, I respect him.”

Vettori’s younger brother Patrick died in a house fire in April 2025. Reflecting on that, the former champion admitted that thinking about losing his own brother the same way made it hard to hold anything against Vettori.

“If I lost (my brother) in a fire, I would be heartbroken. That makes me sad saying that. So I, like, I empathize. So, it’s hard for me to feel anything bad towards this man because I’m like, if I lost (my brother) in a house fire. God forbid.”

Marvin Vettori Facing Turbulent Times 

Vettori has also had a rough time inside the Octagon. The 33-year-old has lost four straight fights, starting with Jared Cannonier in 2023 and followed by defeats to Roman Dolidze, Brendan Allen and Brunno Ferreira. He has not fought since the Ferreira loss last December.

Interestingly, Adesanya finds himself in almost exactly the same position. The former two-time UFC middleweight champion is also 0-4 in his last four fights. His losing streak began against Sean Strickland after regaining the title from Alex Pereira, and continued against Dricus du Plessis, Nassourdine Imavov and Joe Pyfer.

Now, Vettori gets the chance to change that first. He will face Naurdiev at UFC 332 on Saturday, his first fight since his brother's death. He was originally scheduled to face Naurdiev in June but withdrew because of a rib injury. Adesanya will be watching, and he will be in Vettori’s corner from a distance, though.

“I want him to win,” he said. “I mean, it’ll be good for him. It’s been a while, spirit. When you win, I win. When I win, you win. Whether you like it or not, Vettori, we’re locked in this sh*t for life. Yeah, man, I’m going for Vettori. I’m pulling for him to win this one,” he added.

Adesanya Leaves City Kickboxing as Another UFC Name Does the Same

While Vettori has been trying to change things around at Kings MMA, Adesanya has also made a major change to his own setup.

The 37-year-old left City Kickboxing earlier this year after his loss to Pyfer, closing the door on a gym that had been home for much of his UFC career. Under Eugene Bareman, Adesanya went from rising contender to two-time middleweight champion.

He is now training with Alexander Volkanovski’s team in Sydney. And Adesanya is not the only UFC name to recently walk away from CKB. Recently, UFC heavyweight Brando Pericic also announced his departure from the gym after four years in New Zealand.

Unlike Adesanya, Pericic is leaving while his UFC career is heading in the other direction. The 7-1 heavyweight has won all three of his UFC fights, including a knockout of Shamil Gaziev at UFC Perth, and currently sits at No. 12 in the UFC heavyweight rankings.

On the bright side, his goodbye to the gym was also far from bitter. “I’m grateful for every part of this journey. The highs, the lows, the wins, the setbacks and everything in between. I wouldn’t change any of it,” Pericic wrote on Instagram.

“A massive thank you to City Kickboxing, AP Sports Management, all the coaches at CKB and of course, all my teammates who made me better.”