Exclusive – Sean Strickland predicted shock win over Israel Adesanya more than 2 years ago: ‘You have to go fight him’
Turning in a stunning upset victory against two-time middleweight champion, Israel Adesanya last weekend, Sean Strickland appears to have predicted his exact victory over the Nigerian-Kiwi more than two years ago ahead of his UFC 293 title win – claiming he would need to take a firm fight to the former.
Strickland, who headlined UFC 293 last weekend against defending middleweight champion, Adesanya, managed to win the divisional crown with a shocking upset win, stopping the City Kickboxing staple’s second title reign with a one-sided unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 49-46) decision win.
Forcing Adesanya to fight exclusively in a countering fashion in their Sydney, Australia showdown, despite dropping the second round to the two-time champion, Strickland got off to a stunning start, becoming the first fighter to score an official knockdown on Adesanya, dropping his with a counter right hand straight.
Sean Strickland stunningly predicted UFC 293 title win over Israel Adesanya
Winning rounds three, four, and five on all three judge’s scorecards furthermore, Strickland, who firmly and comfortably out-striked and out-pointed Adesanya throughout the clash, managed to predict the exact outcome and gameplan he would use to defeat the champion, more than two years ago in resurfaced interview footage.
“Ah, dude, (Israel) Adesanya, he’s one of the best strikers in the f*cking world, man,” Sean Strickland told LowKick MMA. “He’s another guy that’s like – you’re not gonna go and outpoint Adesanya. You’re not gonna go out there and out-strike Adesanya, you’re gonna have to go in there and f*cking fight him.”
“Same thing with Uriah Hall, I’m not gonna go out there and play tag with Uriah Hall, if I’m gonna do that, he’s gonna catch me,” Sean Strickland explained. “I have to go in there and fight Uriah Hall – you have to go in there and fight Adesanya, you know.”
Lined up to potentially face former champion, Adesanya in an immediate championship rematch – potentially as soon as December, Strickland has already made some alterations to his championship title however, requiring duct tape to repair a side panel of the belt that he somehow managed to break within less than three days of winning the crown.
