Israel Adesanya’s coach Eugene Bareman recently spoke with The Mac Life about his star pupil and the upcoming UFC middleweight title defense versus Marvin Vettori.
In that interview Bareman expressed his bemusement at the reason why Adesanya is facing Vettori in the main event of UFC 263 and not the man he beat for the title back in 2019; Robert Whittaker.
Whittaker was reportedly offered the chance to face Adesanya for the title next month. However, after beating Kelvin Gastelum three weeks ago the ‘Reaper’ announced that he has to take care of some lingering health issues, including torn ligaments in his hands.