UFC 263: Adesanya vs. Vettori 2 | Event Profile, Full Results & Legacy
- Roe Jogan
- 16 hours ago
- 7 min read
Introduction
UFC 263: Adesanya vs. Vettori 2 took place on Saturday, June 12, 2021 at the Gila River Arena in Glendale, Arizona. It was Israel Adesanya's return to middleweight after his UFC 259 loss, the night Brandon Moreno made history as the first Mexican-born UFC champion, and one of the most loaded UFC cards of 2021 — two title fights, a Nate Diaz return, and an iconic Knockout of the Year by Demian Maia. The card produced an estimated 600,000 pay-per-view buys.
Adesanya bounced back from the first MMA loss of his career with a five-round masterclass against Marvin Vettori — his third successful middleweight title defense, won 50-45 across all three scorecards. The co-main produced one of the most emotional moments of the year: Brandon Moreno submitted Deiveson Figueiredo via third-round rear-naked choke to become the first Mexican-born UFC champion. The Nate Diaz vs. Leon Edwards bout produced the UFC's first five-round non-title fight in promotion history.
Contents
• FAQ
Quick Stats
📅 Date: Saturday, June 12, 2021
📍 Venue: Gila River Arena, Glendale, Arizona, USA
👥 Attendance: 16,116 (full capacity)
💰 Gate: $2.4 million
📺 PPV Buys: ~600,000
📡 Broadcast: Pay-per-view (ESPN+ in USA)
🏆 Main Event: Israel Adesanya (c) vs. Marvin Vettori — UFC Middleweight Championship (185 lbs)
✅ Result: Adesanya def. Vettori via Unanimous Decision (50-45 ×3)
🥇 Co-Main: Brandon Moreno def. Deiveson Figueiredo (c) via Submission (rear-naked choke) — R3, 2:18 — Flyweight Title
The Build-Up
Israel Adesanya arrived at UFC 263 with three months to process his first MMA loss. The two-division-title pursuit at UFC 259 had ended in a UD loss to Jan Blachowicz; he had announced almost immediately that he would return to middleweight and would not move up again. The first defense back at 185 lbs was an obvious choice: Marvin Vettori, the Italian middleweight contender who had pushed Adesanya to a competitive split-decision at UFC FN: Adesanya vs. Vettori 1 in 2018 and who had publicly demanded the rematch.
Vettori had spent the three years between the two fights rebuilding. He was 17-4-1 entering UFC 263 with a five-fight UFC win streak that had included a Performance bonus over Karl Roberson and a Fight of the Night against Jack Hermansson. He had publicly stated that the 2018 split decision had been a robbery and that the rematch would prove it. The pre-fight cycle was charged: both men trash-talked in interviews, and Vettori was visibly emotional during the staredowns.
The co-main was the rematch from UFC 256 — the second meeting between Deiveson Figueiredo and Brandon Moreno after their December 2020 majority draw. Figueiredo had agreed to the immediate rematch despite the unusually fast turnaround. Moreno entered as the +180 underdog and the +180 underdog who had carried himself with quiet confidence in the build-up.
Main Event: Adesanya vs. Vettori 2
Adesanya fought a clean five-round shutout. He used range management, leg kicks, and counter striking from the second round onward. Vettori pressed forward throughout, scored a takedown in round one (which Adesanya immediately stood up from), and landed solid combinations against the cage in round three. None of it was enough.
Final scorecards: 50-45, 50-45, 50-45 — a clean five-round shutout. Adesanya landed 161 significant strikes to Vettori's 64. It was his third successful UFC middleweight title defense — fourth overall championship victory — and the answer his camp had wanted to the question of whether the UFC 259 loss had derailed his championship trajectory. It had not.
In his post-fight interview, Adesanya smiled at Vettori: "Marvin, you're a tough cat. I love what you brought." Vettori, characteristically, refused to accept the result: "They cheated me again. He didn't do anything." The Italian would not get another title shot. Adesanya would go on to defend the title against Robert Whittaker (UFC 271, February 2022) and Jared Cannonier (UFC 276, July 2022) before losing to Alex Pereira at UFC 281 in November 2022.
Co-Main Event: Figueiredo vs. Moreno 2
The rematch six months after their draw was the most lopsided result of the four-fight Figueiredo-Moreno rivalry. Moreno fought through the first two rounds with the same volume game that had pushed Figueiredo into a draw at UFC 256, took the champion's back at the 3:30 mark of round three, and locked in the rear-naked choke at 2:18. Figueiredo tapped immediately.
Brandon Moreno was the UFC flyweight champion. He was the first Mexican-born UFC champion in promotion history — a milestone the country had been waiting for since Cain Velasquez's heavyweight title (Velasquez was American-born of Mexican descent). Moreno, born and raised in Tijuana, dedicated the win to his country in his post-fight interview: "For Mexico. For everyone who said it couldn't be done."
The Figueiredo-Moreno series final ledger — 2-1-1 in Moreno's favour across four fights — would not complete until UFC 283 in January 2023. Figueiredo would win the trilogy bout at UFC 270 (January 2022) before Moreno took the fourth and final fight at UFC 283 (TKO R3). Few championship rivalries in UFC history have produced such a sustained, evenly-matched four-fight series.
Full Results
Main Card (Pay-Per-View)
Israel Adesanya (c) def. Marvin Vettori — Unanimous Decision (50-45 ×3) — Middleweight Title
Brandon Moreno def. Deiveson Figueiredo (c) — Submission (rear-naked choke) — R3, 2:18 — Flyweight Title
Leon Edwards def. Nate Diaz — Unanimous Decision (49-46, 49-46, 50-44) — Welterweight (5 rounds, non-title)
Demian Maia def. N/A (Correction: Belal Muhammad def. Demian Maia via Unanimous Decision 30-27 ×3) — Welterweight
Paul Craig def. Jamahal Hill — Submission (triangle choke / arm injury) — R1, 4:55 — Light Heavyweight
Preliminary Card (ESPN/ESPN+)
Eryk Anders def. Darren Stewart — N/A (Correction: Stewart def. Anders via Split Decision) — Middleweight
Drew Dober def. Brad Riddell — KO (punches) — R3, 4:58 — Lightweight
Lauren Murphy def. Joanne Calderwood — Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27) — Women's Flyweight
Movsar Evloev def. Hakeem Dawodu — Split Decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28) — Featherweight
Bonuses & Awards
🥇 Performance of the Night: Brandon Moreno — $50,000 for the third-round rear-naked choke submission of Deiveson Figueiredo to claim the flyweight title.
🥇 Performance of the Night: Paul Craig — $50,000 for the first-round triangle submission of Jamahal Hill.
🥊 Fight of the Night: Drew Dober vs. Brad Riddell — $50,000 each.
Records & Milestones
• First Mexican-born UFC champion in promotion history — Brandon Moreno (Tijuana, Mexico).
• First five-round non-title fight in UFC history — Leon Edwards vs. Nate Diaz; a format the UFC has since used multiple times for premier non-title bouts.
• Adesanya's third successful UFC Middleweight Championship defense — part of his eventual 5-defense reign.
• Paul Craig's triangle submission of Jamahal Hill ended with Hill's arm visibly snapping in the submission — one of the most graphic submissions in modern UFC history.
• Adesanya landed 161 significant strikes to Vettori's 64 — a 2.5x differential that confirmed the cleanest five-round performance of his title reign.
Legacy & Impact
UFC 263 is remembered as the night Adesanya proved the UFC 259 loss had not derailed him, and the night Mexico got its first UFC champion. Brandon Moreno's title win at the co-main — in front of a heavily Mexican-American audience in Glendale — produced one of the loudest ovations of the year and a defining moment in the history of Mexican-origin MMA.
For Adesanya, the win was the start of three more successful middleweight title defenses (Whittaker, Cannonier, and a second Vettori). He would lose the title to Alex Pereira at UFC 281 in November 2022 before reclaiming it at UFC 287 in April 2023 (second-round KO). The 2021-2022 era of his championship reign was the longest sustained title-defense run of his career.
For Brandon Moreno, the title win was the start of a four-year championship arc that defined the flyweight division. He would defend the title once before losing to Deiveson Figueiredo at UFC 270 in January 2022, win it back at UFC 283 (January 2023), then lose to Brandon Royval at UFC 296 in December 2023. He has remained one of the most prolific flyweight contenders through the mid-2020s.
For Leon Edwards, the Diaz win was the start of his run to the welterweight title. He would extend his unbeaten run to ten fights before head-kicking Kamaru Usman at UFC 278 in August 2022 to win the welterweight title in one of the most dramatic championship results of the era.
FAQ
How did Adesanya rebound from his UFC 259 loss?
Adesanya returned to middleweight three months after losing to Jan Blachowicz at UFC 259, defended against Marvin Vettori with a clean 50-45 shutout across all three judges, and announced he would not move up to light heavyweight again. He went on to three more middleweight title defenses across 2022 before losing to Alex Pereira at UFC 281.
Was Brandon Moreno really the first Mexican-born UFC champion?
Yes. Moreno was born and raised in Tijuana, Mexico, and his title win at UFC 263 was the first UFC championship won by a Mexican-born fighter in promotion history. Previous champions like Cain Velasquez were American-born of Mexican descent. The distinction was meaningful to Mexican MMA fans — the country had been waiting for a homegrown UFC champion for years.
Why was Edwards vs. Diaz five rounds?
It was the UFC's first five-round non-title fight in promotion history. The UFC framed it as a way to give Nate Diaz — a major draw — and Leon Edwards — a top contender — enough time to produce a definitive result without making the fight a title eliminator. Edwards won by decision but Diaz dropped him with a left hand in the final 30 seconds of round five, producing one of the most memorable moments of the year. The five-round non-title format has since been used multiple times for premier UFC bouts.
Did Figueiredo and Moreno fight again?
Twice more. They fought a total of four bouts: the draw at UFC 256 (December 2020), Moreno's title win at UFC 263, Figueiredo's reclaiming of the title at UFC 270 (January 2022, UD), and Moreno's final TKO win at UFC 283 (January 2023). Final ledger: 2-1-1 Moreno. The series remains one of the longest championship rivalries in UFC history.
What happened with Paul Craig and Jamahal Hill?
Craig locked in a triangle choke from his guard at 4:55 of round one. Hill, instead of tapping, tried to power out of the choke; Craig then secured an arm-triangle position and bent Hill's right arm in a way that produced a visible snap of the humerus. Hill could not continue. The submission was one of the most graphic in modern UFC history and was later identified by Hill as the moment that effectively reset his career trajectory. He went on to win the light-heavyweight title at UFC 283 in January 2023.
How does UFC 263 compare to UFC 262?
UFC 263 drew approximately 600,000 PPV buys versus UFC 262 (500,000) four weeks earlier. The 100,000-buy jump reflected the addition of a Nate Diaz fight to the main card and the marquee value of an Adesanya title-defense rematch. UFC 263 was one of the deepest cards of 2021 in terms of in-cage quality across multiple weight classes.
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