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Israel Adesanya explains why he’s fighting Vettori over Whittaker: ‘The Italian stepped up’

Why is Israel Adesanya fighting Marvin Vettori over Robert Whittaker?

Because ‘The Italian Dream’ stepped up for June 10 while ‘The Reaper’ wanted the fight pushed back till September.

Adesanya admits Whittaker was his first pick after the Gastelum victory but credits Vettori for accepting the fight and rising to the occasion.

“Well, I wanted to fight Rob after I saw him with Kelvin,” Adesanya revealed on his YouTube channel (h/t BJPenn.com). “Marvin’s like, ‘I want to go in October.’ Rob’s like, ‘I want to go in September.’ I’m like, ‘Look, I’m going in June.