American middleweight Sean Strickland caused a major surprise last weekend by securing the UFC middleweight championship through a unanimous decision victory over Israel Adesanya. To numerous fans, this outcome ranks as one of the most significant upsets not only in UFC history but likely in the entire realm of mixed martial arts.
This bout is destined to be etched in memory for years to come, but for now, it’s important to shift our focus toward what lies ahead. Many experts believe that the fight has finally brought movement to the middleweight division of the UFC, which had been dominated by Adesanya for a long time.
“There was certainly an air of arrogance from Israel Adesanya…”
Michael @bisping reacts to Sean Strickland’s stunning win Down Under and if there should be an immediate rematch….
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Former UFC champion Michael Bisping was not impressed by Izzy’s approach for his matchup against ‘Tarzan’. Yes, it was a well-known fact that Adesanya was a favorite going into the fight, but at this level of the sport, you cannot afford to take any opponent lightly. Bisping felt the same as he expressed to TNT Sports, “There was an air of arrogance in the corner of Israel Adesanya and from Izzy himself”.
“Even when he was dropped in the first round and was very close to being finished, he had a kind of smug look on his face, and there was no concern, worry, or realization that he was in there with a real threat,” added the British MMA legend.
Bisping also questioned Adesanya’s approach to the fight, as he pointed out that in the first round, Izzy was moving backward, and according to the UFC veteran, this is not how one dominates in fights.
Michael Bisping feels Israel Adesanya should take a break from fighting
Apart from being a modern-day great when it comes to his fighting skills, Adesanya has always been appreciated for the fact that he fights frequently. Now, this may not seem like a very big deal to some, but fighters like to take their time to recover and to find the best-suited opponent for themselves. They tend to become even more particular about this when they are champions.
However, MMA being a brutal sport, fighters also need to give their bodies some well-deserved breaks to recover and heal. Michael Bisping feels the same as he said, “In the meantime, Izzy can go away and have a well-deserved break”.
While he appreciated the new Middleweight Champion, Sean Strickland, Bisping also thought that Adesanya’s tight schedule had a role to play in his loss. Was it Adesanya’s arrogance or tight schedule that impacted the result of the fight, or was it just a top performance by Sean Strickland?