Sean Strickland Provides Update On Potential UFC 293 Fight Against Israel Adesanya

Strickland on where things stand for UFC 293.
Sean Strickland Provides Update On Potential UFC 293 Fight Against Israel Adesanya
Sean Strickland Provides Update On Potential UFC 293 Fight Against Israel Adesanya /

Is Israel Adesanya vs. Sean Strickland going to take place in September?

When Dricus du Plessis defeated Robert Whittaker on the UFC 290 card, many believed he was a lock to challenge Adesanya for the UFC Middleweight Championship in Sydney, Australia. While du Plessis was indeed the plan, he is dealing with an injury that will not be healed in time for UFC 293.

Many believed Strickland would be the perfect dance partner to fill in, given he's already got some beef brewing with "The Last Stylebender." Things seemingly didn't look so good, however, as Strickland revealed on Twitter that the UFC didn't want the matchup. Ariel Helwani later reported the promotion was indeed not too keen on the fight.

UFC Middleweight Champion Israel Adesanya and Sean Strickland.
(via ZUffa LLC)

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"The Schmo" recently caught up with Sean Strickland to get an update on the fight. At the very least, it appears the UFC has not shut the door on the title fight.

"Guys, we are working it," Strickland said. "My man continues over there, he's out here. We are working it, we're trying. I'm trying to do it for you guys, we're trying to make it happen for you guys. Then, once the fight happens all I gotta do is fight 'Izzy,' which that's the easy part, right? Getting the fight is the hard part, winning the fight's the easy part."

Adesanya is fresh off an emphatic knockout victory over his rival Alex Pereira at UFC 287 back in April to reclaim the 185-pound gold. Pereira is now Strickland's training partner.

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READ MORE: MAJOR FIGHT ADDED TO UFC 294, BANTAMWEIGHT MATCHUP BOOKED FOR FIGHT NIGHT EVENT

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Fernando Quiles Jr.
FERNANDO QUILES JR.

Fernando has over a decade of combat sports news writing experience. He currently covers MMA, boxing, and pro wrestling. Fernando joined MMA Knockout as the Lead Writer/Editor when it was founded in 2023.