SUMMARY
- Israel Adesanya attributes his loss against Sean Strickland at UFC 293 to the uniqueness of Strickland's jab.
- Adesanya revealed coach Eugene Bareman advised him not to go full out against Strickland, considering Adesanya's undisclosed injuries.
Israel Adesanya remains one of the UFC’s biggest superstars. Owing to a massive fan base and a successful tenure, Adesanya has remained relevant despite his absence. In an interview with Teddy Atlas, the former champ delved into his loss against Sean Strickland.
For those unaware, “The Last Stylebender” became a two-time middleweight champion after defeating Alex Pereira in their UFC 287 rematch. Despite plans to fight Dricus du Plessis in his next fight, things changed after the South African declared his injury. Instead, Sean Strickland stepped up and delivered a masterclass, taking the belt away from Izzy once again.
Speaking about the ill-fated night in Sydney, NSW, Izzy spoke to Teddy Atlas about what really threw him off at UFC 293. “Lost my last fight because I got to a point in the fight where it was the end of the round and I looked down and saw droplets of blood. And I was like damn he got me with that jab. His jab was different, it was like a hammer fist… cause he was in this stance right, the Philly shell..”
Notably, there were a lot of questions about Strickland’s modified Philly Shell stance, inspired by Floyd Mayweather Jr. Despite coming up against one of the best middleweights of all time, Strickland seemingly had all the answers on the night. As such, he went on to dominantly walk through Adesanya in what was one of the best performances by any fighter in 2023.
Israel Adesanya opens up about his future
Understandably, Adesanya was well aware of the fact that he was down quite significantly coming into the 5th round. As such, to make his last stand, Izzy was willing to throw it down and go out on his shield if needed. “I never lost hope, I went back to the corner and I was like we go this round. We must go this round… I wanted to go like if I die I die go out on your shield.”
However, it was his City Kickboxing coach Eugene Bareman who reportedly advised against it. As Adesanya has gone on to reveal since then, he has been coping with a lot of unresolved injuries. Thus, it is likely that his coach, who was aware of these issues, wanted his prized athlete to live to fight another day. Similarly, Izzy also revealed to Atlas the importance of having patience and looking at things for the long run.
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As many may be aware, Israel Adesanya is currently on a hiatus, tending to his longstanding issues and injuries. With that said, he continued to tempt and tease a return to fighting much sooner than anticipated. Having rubbished the rumors of a fight against Khamzat Chimaev, it has opened the door for many other possibilities. Previously, Alex Pereira also extended a shot at light heavyweight gold, in an effort to draw out Adesanya.
At the same time, Izzy’s recent physique and return to training have refueled the rumors of a Pereira trilogy. However, the most likely outcome, as Chael Sonnen suggests, is that Izzy will take on the winner of the main event of UFC 297. Thus, the winner between Sean Strickland and Dricus du Plessis will likely be Izzy’s next opponent. Currently, it remains to be seen when Izzy intends to make his return if not at UFC 300.