Israel Adesanya plans to show Marvin Vettori who the real striker is at UFC on FOX 29

GLENDALE, Ariz. – UFC middleweight Israel Adesanya laughs out loud when hearing his next opponent described as a striker. And not just a brief titter, either.

It’s a long belly laugh that resounds for several seconds before he composes himself.

So it goes without saying that the undefeated Adesanya (12-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) isn’t worried about taking the punch he never saw coming when he meets Marvin Vettori (12-3-1 MMA, 2-1-1 UFC) at UFC on FOX 29. Instead, he’s getting ready to put on another signature beatdown.

“I know his ego. He’ll want to try and bang with me,” Adesanya told MMAjunkie in advance of Saturday’s FOX-televised fight against Vettori at Gila River Arena in Glendale, Ariz. “But then, I’ll give it one minute. Within one minute, he’ll start shooting – guaranteed.”

Adesanya, a former kickboxing champion who almost became a professional dancer before finding martial arts, wowed the UFC audience in his first octagon appearance, stopping Rob Wilkinson in the first round in February with a flurry of devastating strikes.

Despite the emphatic start, Adesanya scoffs at critics who claim he’ll fold under the pressure of an opponent with strong wrestling skills. He won’t be pressured into proving he can hang with anyone on the canvas.

“I’ll keep the same energy,” Adesanya said. “I’m still finding someone to keep me on the ground, and they can see what it’s about. The last guy that tried to take me down, and he couldn’t even keep me down.”

Adesanya will be doing his thing on his feet when he clashes with Vettori, and then the world can judge who the striker is.

“My timing is everything,” Adesanya said. “And just the accuracy, and the way I hit. People say, ‘Look at him.’ I’m all right. I’ve packed some muscle on me. But you don’t need power. My baby sister, she has power.

“Anyone has power. But it’s about timing and accuracy. That’s how you starch a guy. That’s how you make a guy question his whole life and then start shooting for the hills.”

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