"Looks like people who fought Izzy twice end up being likable beings" - Fans react to Marvin Vettori intentionally posing with his Venum shorts backwards

MMA fans have reacted to a photo of middleweight contender Marvin Vettori and his nutritionist posing with their clothing on backwards.

The Italian fighter has fought middleweight champion Israel Adesanya twice, with his second loss to the New Zealander coming at UFC 263 when he challenged for the title.

During the build-up to his rematch with Adesanya, Vettori was photographed by the UFC for a routine promotional photoshoot. During the shoot, the Italian and the camera crew failed to notice he was wearing his Venum gear backwards, resulting in some hilarious trash-talk from the New Zealander and from fans.

Italian MMA journalist Al Zullino posted the most recent pic of Vettori with his shorts backwards on his Twitter, with the caption:

"Marvin Vettori and his nurtrionist @DrCapodaglio pose with their pants backwards"

Fans have reacted to the picture, with one fan joking that his losses to Adesanya have made the Italian a fan favorite because he's now playing along with the joke.

"Looks like people who fought Izzy twice end up being likable beings. The way Marvin & Paulo are so likeable and humorous nowadays you'd find it hard to see them as villains."

Another fan added that this was the perfect response from Vettori as laughing at oneself is a good way to connect with fans.

"This is the correct way to play off such a mistake. Marvin always seems to take himself very seriously but there's nothing you can do in a situation like that other than laugh at yourself."

Check out more fan reactions below:

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Anthony Smith believes Marvin Vettori will be a tough test for Robert Whittaker

UFC light heavyweight Anthony Smith has weighed in on the upcoming middleweight bout between Marvin Vettori and Robert Whittaker.

The UFC Paris bout will pit the No.1 and No.2-ranked middleweights against each other with a win likely to put either fighter back in title contention. Both fighters have lost to current champion Israel Adesanya twice and may well be hoping that a win will set them up for a trilogy bout.

Speaking about the upcoming middleweight clash on the Believe You Me podcast, 'Lionheart' stated that Marvin Vettori is a problem that Whittaker needs to take seriously:

"He's f**king good. [Marvin Vetttori's] really good. I mean, he shut down Costa, he's beating everybody else... and he's beating people kind of at their own games. Even Jack Hermansson fight... like outgrapple Jack Hermansson, which I thought was phenomenal and hard to do. I mean that's the same guy that outgrappled Jacare [Ronaldo Souza]."

Smith added:

"I think a lot of people are kind of just looking over Vettori like, oh okay, well, Whittaker is always gonna win against anybody in the division if it's not Israel Adesanya... and I don't think it's that simple this weekend. I think Robert Whittaker got a little uphill battle to be fair."

Catch Anthony Smith discuss Marvin Vettori vs. Robert Whittaker here: