Tag: Israel Adesanya

Dricus Du Plessis calls for Sean Strickland showdown ahead of ‘Amateur’ Israel Adesanya after UFC 293 shock

dricus du plessisUFC middleweight Dricus Du Plessis calls for title shot against Sean Strickland, labels Israel Adesanya’s performance as ‘amateur’. UFC 293 saw one of the biggest upsets of recent memory as Strickland dropped and outstruck Adesanya over five rounds. The American would earn a unanimous decision victory and now puts himself as the number one target […]

dricus du plessis

UFC middleweight Dricus Du Plessis calls for title shot against Sean Strickland, labels Israel Adesanya’s performance as ‘amateur’.

UFC 293 saw one of the biggest upsets of recent memory as Strickland dropped and outstruck Adesanya over five rounds. The American would earn a unanimous decision victory and now puts himself as the number one target for the rest of the division. 

The victory also puts a dampener on the Du Plessis Vs. Adesanya matchup, which had grown to be a feud filled with bad blood. Du Plessis’s own shock victory over Robert Whittaker earlier this year put it him as the UFC’s No.1 ranked 185 lber’. It was originally Du Plessis who was meant to be facing Adesanya last Saturday, but the quick turnaround from the Whittaker fight after suffering an injury would be too soon.

Dana White has made it clear that he is unhappy that du Plessis did not accept the fight and that Adesanya Vs. Strickland rematch could be next – Du Plessis still has a strong case for being the next title challenger. 

Dricus Du Plessis calls Israel Adesanya ‘amateur’ 

Making his case via Twitter, Du Plessis called for the Strickland fight next but also had to throw an Adesanya dig in there. 

“Me and Strickland had the biggest upsets of 2023 so let’s settle this like men, I’m ready. After that Adesanya can get a hiding in Africa I don’t want to fight the amateur that fought on Sat. I want to beat the best Adesanya, take some time and get your shit together first,” said Du Plessis.

Strickland likes to keep active and with barely a scratch from his latest fight, expect him to make a reasonably quick turnaround – potentially against Du Plessis?

Who wins, Dricus Du Plessis or Sean Strickland?

Sean Strickland details ‘Strange’ encounter over Israel Adesanya’s dog following UFC 293 title fight

AdesanyaIsrael Adesanya appeared to be more upset about some disparaging comments made about his dog than losing the middleweight world championship at UFC 293. Saturday night saw ‘The Last Stylebender’ lose the 185-pound crown for the second time in under a year, suffering a lopsided unanimous decision defeat against seven-to-one underdog Sean Strickland. Following the […]

Adesanya

Israel Adesanya appeared to be more upset about some disparaging comments made about his dog than losing the middleweight world championship at UFC 293.

Saturday night saw ‘The Last Stylebender’ lose the 185-pound crown for the second time in under a year, suffering a lopsided unanimous decision defeat against seven-to-one underdog Sean Strickland. Following the contest, Adesanya shared some words with Strickland inside the Octagon. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to pick up on the back-and-forth dialogue during the live broadcast, but Strickland later revealed that the conversation was about Adesanya’s dog who had been a topic of conversation leading up to their main event clash.

“It was strange, it was strange, man,” Strickland told reporters during the UFC 293 post-fight press conference. “I think he was mad that I made fun of his dog, I’m not even joking. I’m like ‘What the f*ck 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.”

During their first face-to-face at the UFC 293 pre-fight press event, Sean Strickland routinely made light of Adesany’s seemingly sketchy relationship with his dog, referencing a viral video where the ‘Stylebender’ gleefully touched his dog inappropriately.

As it turns out, the dog in the video has since passed away, making it a rather sore subject for the former two-time titleholder.

Sean Strickland Discussed the Time He Killed a Dog (Not Adesanya’s)

Of course, not every Sean Strickland story is complete without putting his own crazy spin on it. After the subject was brought up, ‘Tarzan’ revealed that he himself once killed a dog, but noted that it was purely in self-defense.

“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*cking 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*cking dog, Izzy. Calm the f*ck 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*cking awkward” (h/t MMA Mania).

With Adesanya still seething over Strickland’s disparaging remarks about the former champ’s four-legged friend, is it possible that ‘The Last Stylebender’ could use that as motivation to book himself an immediate rematch? Following the contest, UFC President Dana White was certainly open to the idea, suggesting that a rematch is the logical next step, but it will ultimately be up to Adesanya to decide what’s next. Not just for himself, but for the entire middleweight division apparently.

Sean Strickland credits childhood trauma with shocking UFC 293 title win: ‘Thank God for child abuse, right?’

StricklandSean Strickland defied the odds at UFC 293, delivering a picture-perfect performance that saw him leave The Land Down Under as a world champion. Stepping into the main event spotlight for his first shot at UFC gold, Strickland was sitting as a 7-to-1 underdog going against perhaps the greatest middleweight in the history of the […]

Strickland

Sean Strickland defied the odds at UFC 293, delivering a picture-perfect performance that saw him leave The Land Down Under as a world champion.

Stepping into the main event spotlight for his first shot at UFC gold, Strickland was sitting as a 7-to-1 underdog going against perhaps the greatest middleweight in the history of the sport, Israel Adesanya. Nobody expected him to walk out of the Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, but that’s exactly what happened after he laid it on ‘The Last Stylebender’ for 25 minutes.

Two hours after his stunning performance inside the Octagon, Strickland sat down in front of members of the media at the UFC 293-post-fight press event. Never one to be shy about his struggles growing up in an abusive home, Strickland was asked how that experience may have played a role in his success on Saturday night. Responding, ‘Tarzan’ delivered a tongue-in-cheek response, saying:

“Thank God for child abuse, right? Fuck yeah. Let’s go, childhood traumas or repressed memories… You got me where I needed to be… Dad, you’re f*cking awesome man. All the years of abuse, you really… You really made me the man I had to be today,” Strickland said with a chuckle.“

Sean Strickland Credits the UFC with Saving His Life

Taking a more serious tone, Strickland offered his appreciation to the UFC for giving individuals like him a platform.

“I don’t f*cking know, you guys. I’m just happy that this f*cking world has a place for us, you know? If it wasn’t for this, man, I’m sure I would’ve f*cking committed some random act of violence and f*cking been locked up for killing somebody, so f*cking huzzah to UFC man. Thank you for f*cking saving someone’s life, including my own” (h/t MMA News).

After waking up on Sunday morning realizing that Sean Strickland’s five-round shellacking of Israel Adesanya wasn’t a crazy fever dream, many fight fans were quick to ask, what’s next? According to Dana White, an immediate rematch is in order, but that doesn’t seem to be a popular option among fans considering Adesanya is now 1-2 in his last three and lost decisively against the No. 5 ranked contender in the world.

Much of what comes next will rely on Israel Adesanya. Based on White’s comments at the post-fight press event, Adesanya has a rematch waiting for him if he wants it. Should ‘The Last Stylebender’ opt to take some time off and re-evaluate, Sean Strickland’s first defense will likely come against top-ranked contender Dricus Du Plessis. No. 3 ranked contender Jared Cannonier also presents an interesting possibility considering he holds a win over Strickland.

What direction do you see the middleweight division going after UFC 293‘s shocking result?

Israel Adesanya’s call for title rematch with Sean Strickland shut down: ‘The division needs to move on’

Israel Adesanya shut down immediate rematch with Sean Strickland division move on UFC 293Despite both Israel Adesanya and his City Kickboxing head coach, Eugene Bareman noting their interest in an immediate title fight rematch with newly-crowned champion, Sean Strickland off the back of a staggering decision loss at UFC 293 over the weekend, UFC color commentator, Daniel Cormier has claimed now is the time for the division to […]

Israel Adesanya shut down immediate rematch with Sean Strickland division move on UFC 293

Despite both Israel Adesanya and his City Kickboxing head coach, Eugene Bareman noting their interest in an immediate title fight rematch with newly-crowned champion, Sean Strickland off the back of a staggering decision loss at UFC 293 over the weekend, UFC color commentator, Daniel Cormier has claimed now is the time for the division to “move on”.

Adesanya, a now-former two-time undisputed middleweight champion under the banner of the UFC, headlined the promotion’s return to Sydney, Australia over the course of last weekend, in an attempted title defense against Strickland.

And suffering his second loss in his three most recent Octagon appearances, Nigerian-Kiwi striker, Adesanya dropped a shocking, relatively one-sided unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 49-46) loss to Covina challenger, Strickland, dropping his undisputed middleweight championship.

Remaining coy on his earth-shattering upset loss to the outspoken challenger after UFC 293, Adesanya has been backed to challenge Strickland in an immediate title fight rematch by UFC leader, Dana White, as well as his coach, Bareman.

Israel Adesanya should not receive a title rematch after UFC 293, per Daniel Cormier

However, as far as Hall of Fame inductee and former two-weight champion, Daniel Cormier, Adesanya should not be afforded another immediate championship rematch after his loss to Strickland at UFC 293.

“The last time Izzy (Israel Adesanya) lost, all we could speak about was he should be next again,” Daniel Cormier said after UFC 293. “I don’t think that this time – I don’t think he should fight for the belt next. I don’t think he should get an automatic rematch. I think the division needs to move on a little bit.”

“It’s like a brand new world, right?” He continued. “Like ‘The Little Mermaid’ – a whole new world. Sean Strickland now opens up the possibility of so many fresh matchups. (Jared) Cannonier just weighed in and also has a victory over Sean Strickland.” 

Do you think Israel Adesanya should fight for a title after UFC 293 immediately?

Video – Joe Rogan reacts to Sean Strickland’s upset win over Israel Adesanya at UFC 293: ‘I wish I was there’

Joe Rogan Sean Strickland UFC 293Joe Rogan was highly impressed with Sean Strickland’s performance at UFC 293. The brash middleweight did the unthinkable and upset the now former champion Israel Adesanya, and even made it look easy. The performance was a clear display that styles make fights and we saw Adesanya struggle to connect when faced with Strickland’s almost immaculate […]

Joe Rogan Sean Strickland UFC 293

Joe Rogan was highly impressed with Sean Strickland’s performance at UFC 293. The brash middleweight did the unthinkable and upset the now former champion Israel Adesanya, and even made it look easy.

The performance was a clear display that styles make fights and we saw Adesanya struggle to connect when faced with Strickland’s almost immaculate defense and constant pressure. Forced to fight on the backfoot the entire fight, and almost finished in round one, ‘The Last Stylebender’ lost every round of the fight in Joe Rogan’s eyes.

“I think it’s five (to) zero,” Joe Rogan began, discussing the fight between Strickland and Adesanya. “Sean Strickland is the new middleweight champion of the world, that is f****** crazy.”

Joe Rogan speaks on the Strickland vs. Adesanya fight and a potential rematch between the two

“There’s one round where Izzy might’ve won. Might’ve, but I don’t think he did. All those significant strikes, that’s all nonsense. You’re looking at leg kicks that get checked, you can’t count that.”

While watching a replay of the fight, Joe Rogan and his buddies continued to comment on what a spectacular moment they were witnessing. Rogan even expressed some regret that he wasn’t there to work that event as an announcer.

“The rematch is 100% big money, and that’s what would be smart to do… Unbelievable, he f****** did it. That wild motherf***** is the middleweight champion of the world. God, I wish I was there. I wish I was there for that.”

Rogan did say that Adesanya had class in defeat, but there was no doubt that Rogan and his compatriots were completely astounded and blown away by the incredible performance of Sean Strickland.

“He f****** did it,” Joe Rogan continued, obviously extremely happy for the newly crowned champion. “He’s got the UFC middleweight championship title around his waist, and he beat the best ever, in his prime. Unbelievable.”

What was your reaction to Sean Strickland’s performance at UFC 293?