Israel Adesanya was more upset about Sean Strickland making fun of his dog than he was about “Tarzan” stripping his 185-pound strap, which may give fans a little bit of insight into what went wrong for “The Last Stylebender” at UFC 293 last weekend in Sydney.
Not long after Strickland shocked the combat sports community with his bookie-busting upset, the newly-crowned middleweight champion had a brief and somewhat “strange” exchange with the former division titleholder, one that left “Tarzan” scratching his head.
“It was strange, it was strange, man,” Strickland told reporters during the UFC 293 post-fight press conference (watch it here). “I think he was mad that I made fun of his dog, I’m not even joking. I’m like ‘What the f— is going on here, man. Are we having this conversation?’ Like truly, he was mad, yeah. Izzy I’m sorry I made fun of your dog. I’m sure he’s a great fella.”
Strickland’s UFC 293 trash-talking campaign included this controversial video about Adesanya and his dog. Apparently those “porn” comments rattled “The Last Stylebender,” who was so attached to his pooch he later got his furry little friend tattooed on his neck.
Right after Fido crossed the rainbow bridge.
“I killed a dog once,” Strickland continued. “Crazy story. I have a weird past man, weird past. I’m going to clarify that statement because my Instagram is going to get flooded. I was hiking once, I had a bunch of dogs off leash with my little rascals running around. And there were these stray dogs, like vicious f—ing pitbulls and they came running at my dog. I had a gun, boom, plugged one. So to clarify, it was self defense. But anyways, yeah, it was a f—ing dog, Izzy. Calm the f— down, dude. I’m sure your dog’s a great fella. This is how it starts, guys. No more dog questions in here, guys, it’s getting f—ing awkward.”
I guess this is what happens when there aren’t any witnesses.