- Sean Strickland was a bit shocked to see how easy it was to beat Isreal Adesanya
- “Tarzan” said he couldn’t do anything but be obliged if the UFC calls for a rematch
Newly crowned UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland is not overwhelmed by his champ status and thinks Israel Adesanya wasn’t as good as most people thought he is.
Izzy was Easy
Speaking to the media in his post-fight presser, “Tarzan” refuted the notion that Adesanya wasn’t at his best and it could’ve been the reason he won via a dominant decision victory. According to Strickland, he always knew that his striking is elite and during the fight, he even questioned Izzy’s skills as it turned out to be easier than he expected.
“I think I’m one of the best strikers in the world,” Strickland declared. “Anytime you’re doing the man dance you’re one punch away from being knocked out, but I can spar with any world champion boxer and get the better of them. I don’t know, I just think I’m one of the best strikers in the world.”
“Let me say this, I watched him fight Kelvin [Gastelum] and he was like, ‘You don’t have a chin like Kelvin. You might have his cardio.’ I’m like, chin like Kelvin, motherf**ker, last time I sparred Kelvin the coach jumped in and made us stop. You have no f**king idea. I’ve seen the guys you’ve beat and you should see me spar the guys you’ve beat motherf**ker, no idea. I just think sometimes I run my mouth so much that people forget that I know how to fight,” he added.
“I don’t hit that f**king hard. We all know that. I don’t hit that hard. So, if I’m gonna knock somebody out, they gotta be ready,” he assessed.
“I feel like the guy didn’t even try, there were moments where I was throwing punches where I’m like, ‘Am I fighting an amateur right now? What the f*** is going on?’ But yeah, I think I run my mouth a lot and people forget I can fight, but here we are,” he pointed out.
There’s nothing extra ordinary
Unlike the others, Strickland insisted that nothing about being a UFC champion got him totally carried away. In fact, he was no longer thrilled by it when he came to the presser. For “Tarzan,” it feels good to be the champ and all but he is only here to fight and nothing else.
“I’m pretty much over it, it was just exiting for about a minute but… a lot of this is bullsh*t. I like to f**king fight, I like the fans, I love my job but a lot of this is f**king bullsh*t,” Strickland exclaimed.
Rematch it is
UFC president Dana White has already made it clear that a rematch makes sense. When asked about it, Strickland said there’s really nothing he could do about it if that’s what the UFC wants and it’s the reality in the company.
“If I’ve learned anything about the UFC, it’s since when do you have a f**king choice of who you fight? The UFC never comes up and says, ‘Hey Sean, would you like to fight this guy or would you like to fight this guy?’ The UFC says, ‘Hey, you’re fighting this guy. Fight this guy,’” Strickland stressed. “So at the end of the day, I’m the champion, f**king line them up, I’ll knock them down or get knocked down.”
Adesanya has yet to comment on Strickland and the potential rematch. After the bout, Izzy opted not to talk too much in the presser and went on to chill. Nevertheless, it appears that a second showdown could be next for him and Strickland.
