Adesanya vs Vettori seems like a filler fight for the Nigerian native but perhaps this is simply to the untrained eye and in actual fact, Vettori can pose a threat to the elite-level striker in a number of ways.
We know how Stylebender likes to dictate his fights, and in all honesty, if he isn’t dictating the fight, he isn’t at his best. Izzy doesn’t throw volume and he doesn’t throw long combinations like a boxer or even an MMA fighter would, instead, he will throw feint after feint, to see how you react to all kinds of different looks, and he will study you until he finds a killer weak spot. All the while he is slowly picking away with debilitating jabs and leg kicks.
So how can Vettori unlock this puzzle and begin to land? We know it can be done because Gastellum did it, and so perhaps we should begin there and compare the styles of Vettori and Gastellum to determine if his success can be replicated.
Where Gastellum had his success, is he managed to successfully close the distance, like Vettori managed to do in his first fight with Adesanya, only when Gastellum did it, he did so with crisp and clean boxing.
Gastellum also set up traps and hid the strikes that landed, whereas Vettori tends to throw a left-right-left-right and vice versa sequence and is jittery in his feinting. This allows Izzy to more easily anticipate what is incoming.
So, for Vettori, the keys to victory are:
- Mix up the combinations; Vettori throws too conventionally, be unpredictable and disguise the hands
- Feint the takedowns; this will open up more opportunities on the feet (see Khabib vs McGregor
- Throw low kicks; again for the purpose of mixing it up, a one-dimensional 1-2-1-2 boxing approach will feed into Adesanya’s game
Keys to victory for Adesanya:
- Move forward; don’t allow Vettori to push as this will open up the take down opportunities
- More disruption; the jab and low kicks will need more volume to keep Vettori from pushing forwards
- Defend the takedowns; Vettori will know he will win rounds using wrestling, Izzy must anticipate this and be ready to stop it
Best of luck to both fighters this Saturday!
Howard Noakes @CageLogicMMA