UFC 263: Adesanya vs Vettori II Preview

By Kyler Kuehler

UFC 263: Adesanya vs. Vettori II will air on June 12, 2021, in Glendale, Arizona.

Early Preliminary Card (Fight Pass/ESPN+)

CARLOS “BOI” FELIPE (10-1-0) vs JAKE “THE PROTOTYPE” COLLIER (12-5-0)
This is a three-round fight in the heavyweight division. Felipe brings boxing and jiu-jitsu. Collier brings striking and jiu-jitsu. Both have great knockout power; Felipe throws harder strikes. He will hold nothing back and attack Collier right away. Collier will grow cautious and try to run from Felipe. Felipe will chase after him and continue landing heavy blows. My prediction: Felipe wins via knockout in Round 1.

FARES “SMILE KILLER” ZIAM (11-3-0) vs LUIGI “THE ITALIAN STALLION” VENDRAMINI (9-1-0)
This is a three-round fight in the lightweight division. Ziam brings striking and jiu-jitsu. Vendramini brings striking and jiu-jitsu. Both have great skills; Vendramini is more athletic. He will be faster and more efficient with his attacks. Ziam will try to keep up with him, but Vendramini will be too fast for him. Vendramini will keep his attacks up until the very end. My prediction: Vendramini wins via unanimous decision.

CHASE “THE TEENAGE DREAM” HOOPER (10-1-1) vs STEVEN “OCHO” PETERSON (18-9-0)
This is a three-round fight in the featherweight division. Hooper brings striking and jiu-jitsu. Peterson brings Muay Thai and jiu-jitsu. Hopper is tough, but Peterson’s Muay Thai is no joke. Peterson will throw heavy attacks that Hooper has never faced before. Hooper will try to defend but will be unable to withstand Peterson’s attacks. My prediction: Peterson wins via knockout in Round 1.

MATT “THE STEAMROLLA” FREVOLA (8-2-1) vs TERRANCE “T. WRECKS” MCKINNEY (10-3-0)
This is a three-round fight in the lightweight division. Frevola brings Muay Thai, jiu-jitsu, and wrestling. McKinney brings striking and jiu-jitsu. Both are well-rounded in every way; Frevola possesses better striking from his Muay Thai. McKinney will try to strike with Frevola with his boxing, but it won’t be enough. Frevola will be throwing heavy attacks until McKinney goes down. My prediction: Frevola wins via knockout in Round 3.

#11 PANNIE “BANZAI” KIANZAD (14-5-0) vs ALEXIS DAVIS (20-10-0)
This is a three-round fight in the women’s bantamweight division. Kianzad brings boxing, shootfight, jiu-jitsu, and wrestling. Davis brings boxing, Muay Thai, jiu-jitsu, and wrestling. Davis is tough and will be throwing heavy hands at Kianzad. However, Kianzad is fast and can withstand a great amount of punishment. She will be returning her strikes in return and cause more damage to Davis. Davis will try for a takedown but walk right into more of Pianzad’s attack in the process. My prediction: Kianzad wins via TKO in Round 2.

Preliminary Card (ESPN/+)

#14 MOVSAR EVLOEV (14-0-0) vs #15 HAKEEM “MEAN” DAWODU (12-1-1)
This is a three-round fight in the featherweight division. Evloev brings striking, jiu-jitsu, and wrestling. Dawodu brings kickboxing and Muay Thai. Dawodu is well-rounded in every way and looks to make easy work of Evloev. However, Evloev is athletic and is an excellent grappler. He will be able to bring Dawodu to the ground and keep him there. Dawodu will try to get back to his feet, but Evloev will make it impossible to do so. My prediction: Evloev wins via unanimous decision.

#3 LAUREN “LUCKY” MURPHY (14-4-0) vs #6 JOANNE “JOJO” CALDERWOOD (15-5-0)
This is a three-round fight in the women’s flyweight division. Murphy brings boxing, Muay Thai, and jiu-jitsu. Calderwood brings kickboxing, Muay Thai, and jiu-jitsu. Calderwood is a great striker, but she is not very fast or aggressive. Murphy is tough and will be throwing heavy attacks at Calderwood right away. Calderwood will try to defend, but won’t withstand the power and aggression of Murphy. My prediction: Murphy wins via TKO in Round 2.

ERYK “YA BOI” ANDERS (13-5-0, 1 NC) vs DARREN “THE DENTIST” STEWART (12-6-0, 2 NC)
This is a three-round fight in the middleweight division. Anders brings boxing, kickboxing, jiu-jitsu, and wrestling. Stewart brings taekwondo and jiu-jitsu. Both are equipped with plenty of experience; Anders seems to be more well-rounded. Stewart’s taekwondo will give Anders some trouble, but Anders will be able to counter with his boxing and kickboxing. He will weaken Stewart enough to the point he will bring him down to the ground. There he will keep Stewart and control him for the rest of the fight. My prediction: Anders wins via unanimous decision.

#13 DREW DOBER (23-10-0, 1 NC) vs BRAD “QUAKE” RIDDELL (9-1-0)
This is a three-round fight in the lightweight division. Dober brings Muay Thai, jiu-jitsu, and wrestling. Riddell brings kickboxing, Muay Thai, and jiu-jitsu. Dober will look to use his wrestling to try and take control of the fight. Riddell will avoid the ground with his takedown defense and force Dober to strike with him. Dober can strike, but he is not as efficient as Riddell is. Riddell will throw heavy hands and cause major damage to Dober right away. My prediction: Riddell wins via knockout in Round 1.

Main Card (Pay-Per-View – ESPN+)

#14 PAUL “BEARJEW” CRAIG (14-4-1) vs #15 JAMAHAL “SWEET DREAMS” HILL (8-0-0, 1 NC)
This is a three-round fight in the light heavyweight division. Craig brings boxing and jiu-jitsu. Hill brings striking and jiu-jitsu. Craig’s boxing looks to be too much for Hill to withstand. Craig will not be able to land any heavy strikes on Hill as Hill will be too fast for him. Hill will dodge just about every attack Craig throws at him. Craig will end up leaving himself open giving Hill the perfect opportunity to unleash his fury upon him. My prediction: Hill wins via TKO in Round 1.

#9 DEMIAN MAIA (28-10-0) vs #12 BELAL “REMEMBER THE NAME” MUHAMMAD (18-3-0, 1 NC)
This is a three-round fight in the welterweight division. Maia brings boxing, Muay Thai, karate, judo, jiu-jitsu, and wrestling. Muhammad brings boxing and jiu-jitsu. Maia is tough and will do everything in his power to bring the fight to the ground where he is strongest. Muhammad knows this and will keep the fight standing. Maia will not want to strike with Muhammad, but that will be difficult to do as Muhammad has a great takedown defense. Maia will have no choice but to strike with Muhammad. Muhammad will take Maia apart with every strike he lands on Maia. My prediction: Muhammad wins via unanimous decision.

#3 LEON “ROCKY” EDWARDS (18-3-0, 1 NC) vs NATE DIAZ (20-12-0)
This is a five-round fight in the welterweight division. Edwards brings boxing, kickboxing, and jiu-jitsu. Diaz brings boxing and jiu-jitsu. Diaz is an intense grappler and has a chin to withstand just about any strike is thrown at him. However, Edwards is well-rounded and has great pacing. He will be throwing plenty of strikes at Diaz and hold nothing back. Diaz will try for a takedown, but Edwards will manage to keep the fight standing. Edwards will then throw heavy blows at Diaz and keep his pacing steady while Diaz begins to grow tired as the fight progresses. My prediction: Edwards wins via submission in Round 2.

(C) DEIVESON “DEUS DA GUERRA” FIGUEIREDO (20-1-1) vs #1 BRANDON “THE ASSASSIN BOY” MORENO (18-5-2)
This is a five-round co-main event for the flyweight championship. Figueiredo brings boxing, Muay Thai, jiu-jitsu, and wrestling. He is the current champion. Moreno brings Muay Thai and jiu-jitsu. Both are well-rounded and are on a role to prove they are the best in the division. Figueiredo is a freak athlete with intense striking power and grappling to put Moreno in major trouble. Moreno is well-rounded and possesses intense Muay Thai to challenge Figueiredo. He will be able to stand with Figueiredo and even cause some major damage to him. Figueiredo will have close calls, but he’ll be able to hold through. He will out cardio Moreno enough to remain on top. My prediction: Figueiredo wins via unanimous decision.

(C) ISRAEL “THE LAST STYLEBENDER” ADESANYA (20-1-0) vs #3 MARVIN “THE ITALIAN DREAMER” VETTORI (17-4-1)
This is a five-round main event for the middleweight championship. Adesanya brings boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, taekwondo, and jiu-jitsu. He is the current champion. Vettori brings kickboxing, Yoseikan Budo, jiu-jitsu, and wrestling. This rematch looks to be more competitive than their first with Adesanya winning via split decision. Adesanya has improved much since their first encounter and will be giving Vettori a good beating. Vettori has improved a lot as well, but he does not possess the skills Adesanya does. Adesanya will be able to take control of Vettori right away and not give Vettori an opening. Vettori will try to keep up with Adesanya, but he is nowhere near his level so it will not be possible to do so. My prediction: Adesanya wins via knockout in Round 2.