Forer UFC referee john McCarthy reacts to Israel Adesanya’s nails during his recent fight with Sean Strickland at UFC 293.
Adesanya dropped his title to Strickland last weekend in the main event of UFC 293 in Sydney, Australia. The loss is a major hit to the 34-year-old’s momentum and potentially his legacy.
While most of the conversation has surrounded Strickland’s shocking win, recent images also surfaced that ignited a small debate. Zooming in on a picture of Adesanya throwing a kick, it shows Adesanya’s painted nails – which also appear to be rather long.
A fan put the image to McCarthy, a legendary figure in MMA and the former referee claimed that his nails were far too long, that they would have to be cut if he was officiating the bout.
“Not while I was refereeing, those need to be cut short,” said McCarthy
Israel Adesanya’s comeback
It’s unclear whether Adesanya will get an immediate rematch against Strickland or not after UFC CEO, Dana White, has flip flopped on the idea.
Following the loss Adesanya gave a brief statement, the gravity of the loss on full display.
“I had a different plan for this, but again, life throws curveballs at you,” Adesanya said. “Win or lose, I wasn’t going to say much anyway, but right now, I lost tonight to the better man on the night. I just want to go and be with people who care about me — my team and they’re waiting for me so I’m going to do that.” (H/T MMA Fighting)
Adesanya is still one of the most talented fighters on the roster and if a rematch is not granted, a win over top contender should see him right back in the picture.