Israel Adesanya has unfinished business with one guy in the middleweight division.
Sean Strickland is his name as the American took the throne from the two-time UFC Champion at UFC 293. Strickland knocked down Adesanya early on during their five-round fight and Adesanya just couldn’t find his rhythm afterwards.
‘The Last Stylebender’ lost a dominant decision over the distance, along with his coveted world championship. The belt doesn’t belong to Strickland anymore though as Dricus du Plessis was the fighter to end his short-lived title reign at UFC 297.
First Du Plessis, Then Strickland
For Adesanya, all eyes are on what should be his next opponent in du Plessis. If everything goes according to plan, the 34 year-old wouldn’t mind getting payback on Strickland, as he finally did against Alex Pereira at UFC 287 after his long-time rival beat him a total of three times across two combat sports (kickboxing and MMA).
“This took me 6 years to accomplish,” Adesanya said of avenging his losses to Pereira on ‘This Past Weekend‘ with Theo Von. “With Strickland, it won’t take me that long. Let me just get through DDP first. Let me handle— I look to the next fight. I look ahead, like a little peek at the future. But, I don’t try and focus on it.
“I just know the Strickland fight will come back around. I’m in a good place now health-wise, mentally, and I know exactly what happened in that fight that just wasn’t for me. He’s a great fighter. He’s also a good champion. What a reign. I mean, he did what he did,” Adesanya chuckled.
Adesanya Pays Respects To Strickland, Willing To Wait For Rematch
Sean Strickland’s run as a champion might not have lasted long at only 133 days, but former foe Israel Adesanya will give credit where credit is due.
“He did what he did. Look, even the way he beat me, it was spectacular. It was his moment,” Adesanya said of Strickland. “That was his night. He just fought the perfect fight no matter what. I made no excuses. I gave it to him.
“But again, like I said, I’m a patient motherf****r. I take my time. I reassess. And, yeah, I go for what I want.”
