Ex-UFC Champion Israel Adesanya: Losing Title At UFC 293 "Felt Like A Bad Dream"
Israel Adesanya has finally shared his thoughts on the incredible upset at UFC 293 that saw him lose his middleweight title to Sean Strickland.
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“The Last Stylebender” established himself as one of the biggest stars in the UFC during an initial run as middleweight champion that included five successful defenses of his belt. Adesanya briefly lost the title to his former kickboxing rival Alex Pereira, but after reclaiming it in their rematch he was booked to meet Strickland at UFC 293 and kick off his second reign as champion.
The 34-year-old was a massive favorite heading into the main event bout in Australia, and after losing to Strickland via lopsided unanimous decision Adesanya finally sat down with his brother David to discuss what went wrong in the fight.
(Jasmin Frank/USA TODAY Sports)
“The way I felt in there was different than how I looked,” Adesanya explained on his YouTube channel. “How did I feel in there? Like a bad dream…Not even a nightmare. A nightmare is like ‘Oh s***, f***.´… A nightmare is like, you know you’re scared. But this is like - you try and hit the guy [and] it just feels like noodle arms…It just felt like a bad dream.”
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Some fans suggested ahead of UFC 293 that Strickland could upset Adesanya with a big shot or by falling back on his underrated grappling. The challenger ended up comprehensively out striking the former kickboxer over five rounds, and “The Last Stylebender” had to give his opponent credit for executing such an effective game plan.
(Jasmin Frank/USA TODAY Sports)
“[I] just wasn’t able to like, just get my rhythm ‘cause of his pressure. He was right there constantly, and whenever I was setting him up – ‘cause he was right there and his coach would help him. And I’d be like, ‘F***.’ It was just – good game plan from there, and but also from me I wasn’t able to adjust on the fly…It was his night, and he got it done. I made another dream come true.”
Strickland’s win at UFC 293 was one of the biggest upsets in the promotion’s history, and immediately after the fight ended there was already talk that Adesanya should get an immediate rematch despite the fact that he’d only just reclaimed the title from Pereira.
UFC boss Dana White has indicated that an immediate rematch is a possibility, but going in that direction would likely draw the ire of middleweight contenders like Jared Cannonier and Dricus Du Plessis that are eager to challenge the newly-crowned middleweight champion.
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