Israel Adesanya eyes rematch with UFC rival Sean Strickland, mocks title loss again: ‘What a reign’
Israel Adesanya claims a title rematch with one-time foe, Sean Strickland will come round his direction again – and remains confident of avenging the defeat, however, still took time to once more mock the championship run of the former, which ended last month at UFC 297.
Adesanya, a former two-time middleweight champion, has been sidelined since he fought Strickland atop UFC 293 back in September of last year, dropping a stunning upset decision shutout loss defeat to the Xtreme Couture staple in Sydney, Australia.
Promising a lengthy hiatus from the Octagon in the midst of his second middleweight championship loss in the space of a calendar year, Adesanya has made a significant u-turn – claiming he will fight sooner than expected.
And linked with a potential main event slot atop UFC 300 in April, Adesanya claimed he accepted a bout agreement to fight Pretoria rival, Dricus du Plessis in a title grudge match on the card, however, boldly claimed the South African reneged on the clash.
Israel Adesanya eyes title rematch with Sean Strickland
Still hoping to secure a fight with the newly-minted champion later this year, Adesanya revealed that he still wants to fight Strickland in a rematch before calling time on his career – claiming he just wasn’t supposed to win in their UFC 293 showcase.
“I look to the next fight, never – I look ahead, like a little peek at the future,” Israel Adesanya told Theo Von during an appearance on This Past Weekend. “But I don’t try to focus on it. And I just know the (Sean) Strickland fight will come back around, and I’m in a good place right now health wise, mentally, and I know exactly what happend in that fight, that just wasn’t for me.”
“He’s (Strickland) a great fighter,” Israel Adesanya continued. “He’s also a good champion – what a reign. I mean, he did what he did. Even the way he beat me was spectacular, it was his moment.”
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