Reigning middleweight champion Israel Adesanya was back in the headlines earlier this week ahead of the UFC 293 pay-per-view (PPV) event in Sydney. Similar to the videos about China (see those here), “The Last Stylebender” had to answer for some of his past behavior after this questionable footage was uploaded to both YouTube and Twitter.
Adesanya is now facing accusations of animal mistreatment.
As expected, middleweight contender Sean Strickland was quick to use the material as ammunition in his pre-fight buildup. “Tarzan” battles “The Last Stylebender” in the five-round main event this weekend “Down Under” and did not hold his tongue.
“Somebody needs to call PETA after what Izzy does with his dog,” Strickland said during the UFC 293 open workouts.
It only got worse from there.
“You know what, the moment I post a video of me jerking off my dog, that will put some credibility to that,” Strickland shouted at the UFC 293 press conference. “F—ing puppy porn, man? I had to double check that s—t just to make sure it was legit. And it was legit! I followed Izzy for a quick second just to check. It was real!”
Adesanya did not address the dog video but instead promised a post-fight celebration.
“Last time I did a cool dance and I knocked [Robert Whittaker] out,” he said. “This time I’m gonna knock [Sean Strickland] out and do another cool dance.”
Hopefully he leaves his dog collar at home.
MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 293 fight card right here, starting with the early ESPN+ “Prelims” matches scheduled for 6:30 p.m. ET, then the remaining undercard balance on ESPNN/ESPN+ at 8 p.m. ET, followed by the PPV main card start time at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN+ PPV.
To check out the latest and greatest UFC 293: “Adesanya vs. Strickalnd” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here. For the updated and finalized UFC 293 fight card and ESPN+ lineup click here.