Following Israel Adesanya’s shocking loss to Sean Strickland at UFC 293, Dana White suggested that an immediate rematch is the way to go.
Emanating from the Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, fight fans were treated to an exciting night of scraps, but by the time the evening was over, all anybody could talk about was Strickland’s dominant performance against ‘The Last Stylebender’ to claim the middleweight world title. Once the reality of the situation set in, everyone’s attention quickly turned to what would be next for both Strickland and Adesanya.
Addressing members of the media, UFC President Dana White suggested that an immediate rematch is what makes the most sense to him, but it will ultimately come down to what Adesanya wants to do.
“I think you do the rematch, absolutely. I think the rematch is interesting,” White said during the post-fight press event. “That could be the thing too. When you think about you’re going into the Pereira fight. Such a big fight and you’ve been in there with this guy so many times and then you overlook Strickland. I don’t know. I don’t know the answers to these questions, but Israel does and I’m looking forward to hearing it.”
There are Far More Intriguing Matchups Than Strickland vs. Adesanya 2
Considering Adesanya regained the title in an immediate rematch against long-time foe Alex Pereira in April, many fight fans on social media were quick to speak out against the possibility of the ‘Stylebender’ running it back with Sean Strickland right away. Not to mention the UFC’s backlog of top-ten fighters looking for their own opportunity to fight for the title.
The matchup that makes the most sense would see Sean Strickland defending against the division’s No. 1 ranked contender, Dricus Du Plessis. But perhaps a new middleweight contender will emerge at UFC 294 next month when Paulo Costa returns to take on undefeated Chechen monster Khamzat Chimaev. Then you have Jared Cannonier who actually holds a victory over the new middleweight champ.
Needless to say, there are far more interesting matchups than Strickland vs. Adesanya 2.
Which fight makes the most sense to you?