Sean Strickland is convinced that Israel Adesanya was never that good.
On Saturday, ‘The Last Stylebender’ returned to the Octagon nearly a year removed from his lopsided loss against Strickland at UFC 293. Determined to reclaim the crown he lost that night, Adesanya went toe-to-toe with current middleweight titleholder Dricus Du Plessis in the UFC 305 headliner.
Unfortunately for Adesanya, things did not go his way. After getting clipped with a labored right hand in the fourth, ‘DDP’ secured a rear-naked choke, forcing the ‘Stylebender’ to tap out and give up on his dream of becoming a three-time world champion.
https://x.com/saucyosxma/status/1825033294129283394
Reacting to the finish, Strickland—who is likely next in line for a shot at Du Plessis’ gold—boldly exclaimed that Adesanya was never that good and used the Nigerian’s scrap with Kelvin Gastelum more than five years ago as his point of reference.
“I have an unpopular opinion. I just don’t think Izzy is that good,” Strickland told the Verse Us with Eric Nicksick. “Let me tell you why.”
“When he fought Kelvin [Gastelum], I think Kelvin sucks. Everyone is like, ‘Oh man, Izzy, he’s this and that.’ I’ve sparred Kelvin so many times where I’m like, you kind of had a close fight with Kelvin. Like, you’re not that f*cking good,” Strickland continued. “You’re not that f*cking good. You fought f*cking [Paulo] Costa. Costa was scared sh*tless of you. You f*cking blew on him and he fell asleep. Izzy is not that f*cking good.”
Strickland seems to think that it all comes down to Adesanya not having the ability to dig deep when things get tough inside the Octagon.
“He [Adesanya] doesn’t really have that f*cking dog in him,” Strickland continued. “When he fought Kelvin I was like, you let Kelvin have that close of a fight with you. If I fought Kelvin, Kelvin wouldn’t touch me.”
Adesanya has no plans of retiring, but if he hopes to get another crack at the middleweight title, he’ll have to spend some time as a contender rather than a champion or challenger.
The last time Adesanya competed in a non-title fight was in February 2019.
Sean Strickland Reveals DMs He Received From Megan Fox
During his appearance on the show, Strickland also revealed details behind a DM he received from Megan Fox, the actress best known for her work in films like Transformers, Jennifer’s Body, and This Is 40.
While at first, it sounded as though the DM may have been something a little spicy, ‘Tarzan’ was quick to clarify that Fox had actually reached out to him regarding some disturbing comments he’d made about her kids.
“She hit me up, but I’ve got a woman. I would never do anything wrong, but the message was kinda f*cked up. It was more of like, ‘My kids get bullied and I get bullied online because you said they’re tranny. They’re not trans, they just dress like rock stars,’ and I’m just like, ‘Sorry Megan. I’ll shut the f*ck up about it,’ but you still drink blood and sh*t. You still do a lot of weird sh*t, Megan.”
Sean Strickland says Megan Fox sent him a “f*cked up” DM after he made fun of her kids and Machine Gun Kelly 😬 pic.twitter.com/XlBYctTBDs
— Happy Punch (@HappyPunch) August 20, 2024
During UFC 300 weekend, Strickland got into it with Fox’s longtime partner, Machine Gun Kelly. The two nearly got into a scrap after the former UFC champ dubbed him a “gay vampire” and made fun of his monochromatic clothing style.
Following the encounter, Strickland slammed MKG on social media and made some unnecessary comments about Fox’s children that he later regretted.
“There is a point where I shouldn’t make fun of her kids, but it was more about MGK.”
Strickland Still Selling His Harley Davidson Even After the Company Walks Back Its ‘Woke’ Agenda
Sean Strickland also offered an update on his frustrations with Harley Davidson after the company’s CEO, Jochen Zeit, instituted multiple inclusion policies that sent conversations into a frenzy. Since then, the company has walked back its comments and will no longer embrace the intensely debated DEI concept that aims to create a more inclusive and diverse workplace.
Despite the recent changes, Strickland is not entirely convinced that the company is getting back to its more ‘traditional values’ and called for the CEO’s dismissal.
“Until your CEO goes Harley is dead… Don’t buy Harley until the CEO is gone,” Strickland wrote on X.
Strickland didn’t stop there, revealing that he still plans on selling off his Harley and that it’s actively listed online.
“Idk man… The weather is getting good in Vegas but the thought of pulling out the harley to ride just feels wrong……. still have it listed to sell lol,” he added.
Idk man… The weather is getting good in Vegas but the thought of pulling out the harley to ride just feels wrong……. still have it listed to sell lol
— Sean Strickland (@SStricklandMMA) August 20, 2024
Watch Strickland’s full podcast appearance below:
