- Dana White wants to see Sean Strickland vs. Israel Adesanya rematch
- The UFC boss thinks Izzy was not at his best form against “Tarzan” at UFC 293
UFC president Dana White is all-in on a rematch between Israel Adesanya and new middleweight champion Sean Strickland. For the UFC boss, Izzy deserves a second chance and from a matchmaking perspective, all signs point to a second showdown.
Strickland vs. Adeasanya II should happen
Speaking to reporters in his UFC 293 post-fight presser, White expressed his approval of an immediate Strickland vs. Adesanya rematch. According to White, it has an “interesting” storyline as it is and it could also be something big to look forward to such as Izzy’s long-standing rivalry with Alex Pereira.
“I think you do the rematch, absolutely. The rematch is interesting,” White said. “That could be the thing, too. When you think about you’re going into the Pereira fight, such a big fight, and you’ve been in there with this guy so many times, and then you overlook Strickland. You come in and I don’t know. I don’t know the answers to these questions, but Israel does, and I’m looking forward to hearing it.”
Izzy wasn’t himself
The way White saw it, Adesanya was far from the champion he was when inside the cage with Strickland. However, only “The Last Stylebender” could tell what went wrong after all.
“Israel looked like he was in slow motion. He looked like he couldn’t get off. He looked like he was really stiff tonight. He looked very slow,” White assessed.
“Only Israel knows what’s going on. I’m very curious to see what he says at this press conference tonight. There are a million things that could go wrong. Some days you wake up and you’re just not there, man. It’s just not there. He looked bone-dry tonight, standing up really tall. He looked very slow. He looked like he couldn’t get off at all. Even in the fifth round when everybody knew he needed a knockout to win the fight, there was no sense of urgency to try to finish the fight. So I don’t know if he’s hurt or just… tonight’s that night,” he added.
Most people who tuned in on the fight could agree with White as Adesanya evidently lacked the effort to retain his title even if he knew Strickland was outright winning. With White already in favor of a rematch, it is very likely that Strickland vs. Adesanya II could just be waiting for an exact date.
