- Israel Adesanya pointed out that talking trash with him inside the Octagon wouldn’t help Sean Strickland at UFC 293
- Izzy is not underestimating “Tarzan” and is focused on winning
Reigning UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya will be back inside the Octagon to defend his belt against Sean Strickland at UFC 293. Ahead of the match, “The Last Stylebender” guarantees that “Tarzan” would be putting himself in danger if tries to talk smack with him during the fight.
Talking wouldn’t Help
In a recent video in his YouTube channel, Adesanya insisted that none of Strickland’s hoopla is getting inside his head, especially on fight night. However, once “Tarzan” opens his mouth in the middle of the fight, he would make sure to break his jaw.
“Just some loudmouth talking over and louder than you to try and seem like he’s got something to say. He has nothing to say, really. He just wants to, again, I know the guy. I’ve seen him. I’ve pressed him before [in] actual… it’s for show. I just know what it is. That’s why people are excited about the press conference because that’s his spot to shine, I guess but I can rap too. I just decide when I use my mouth and when I don’t,” Adesanya said of Strickland. “If he’s talking to me he’s gonna get his jaw broken. He’s gonna get his jaw broken.”
“When you’re talking, you’re not focused on the task at hand. Look at [Paulo] Costa, ‘Come on, Izzy.’ I was physically talking to him. I didn’t use my words, I used body language with Costa. You roll the clips, where I like fainted electric and I was like, ‘your’re scared.’ Verbally, I don’t gotta say sh*t. My work will do the talking and he’ll feel me. I hope he talks to me because he’ll get his jaw broken,” he added.
Izzy is taking Sean seriously
When asked about his thoughts on the narrative that suggests he is the flat-out favorite and Strickland is “a walk in the park,” Adesanya refused to acknowledge the idea. For Izzy, “Tarzan” is “crazy” but also “dangerous” at the same time. Adesanya added that he never slept on anybody and but he will try and make it “look easy.”
“I never underestimate anyone,” Adesanya pointed out. “I was just thinking about [Michael] Bisping vs. [Luke] Rockhold [2] when Bisping finally beat him, took the fight on like 1.5 weeks’ notice or something, two weeks’ notice. Goes in there, shocks the world. That’s a possible reality. My job is to make sure it’s not in this reality. That’s another parallel universe, another timeline. So like, yeah. I’m very aware of the dangers that he brings and the stuff that he’s really good at. So, I don’t take this lightly, like. you guys will see me, see I’ve been working. I’m not underestimating this guy but at the same time, I’m not overestimating him. I want to make this look easy. I’m gonna make this look easy cause of the work that we’re doing right now and the way that I’m working right now. I just know.”
“He’s got a nice guard, he’s got a good jab, and to be honest, [he’s] just crazy. He’s crazy. That’s the X-factor. But again, so am I,” he concluded.
No drama
It can be recalled that Adesanya was expected to face Dricus du Plessis next but things took a huge turn and the UFC wound up booking him against Strickland to headline UFC 293. Izzy said he never spent time and energy on the drama and his team has done a wonderful job helping him stay focused on the most important thing as well.
“It doesn’t bother me. One thing that Eugene [Bareman] told me early on like three, four weeks ago, ‘Don’t focus on the opponent, just focus on the date.’ Because I know there was talks of rescheduling me fighting but I was like this is my side of the world, I have to fight on this side of the world so Eugene and I talked and he just told me don’t focus on an opponent, focus on a date. I was like [you] bet. That helped me stay focused,” Izzy revealed.
“[The training has been] Awesome. it’s been great. [I’m] working smart, working hard, [I know] when it’s time to push, time to chill, I relax. I’m just taking this very seriously because a man with nothing to lose and everything to gain is a dangerous man,” he added.
Adesanya will defend his title for the first time in his second reign as the middleweight king, having reclaimed his throne with a KO win against Alex Pereira in their rematch at UFC 287. On the other hand, Strickland finally got the title shot he has been yearning for after securing back-to-back wins over the lower-ranked Nassourdine Imavov and the unranked Abus Magomedov.
