UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya will be defending his belt against Sean Strickland at UFC 293 that is set to happen on September 10 at the Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, Australia. While many believe that Strickland has been gifted the title shot, he can for sure sell the fight and make some good PPV money for the boss, Dana White.
Strickland is coming off two straight wins against Abus Magomedov and Nassourdine Imavov and will be riding high on confidence. His opponent, Adesanya, has dominated the 185-pound division for the last few years and will look to make yet another title defense.
Ever since the fight between the two was announced, fans were sure that all the events leading up to UFC 293 would be very entertaining, as Strickland has absolutely no filter when it comes to trash-talking. This is also the reason why he has been involved in multiple controversies throughout his career. The middleweight veteran has been targeting the Stylebender too, but the champion himself is quite outspoken and has recently called out Strickland and claimed to knock him out in their fight.
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Adesanya called Strickland an idiot in a recent interview with MMA Fighting and has a special celebration in mind for their fight. “Well, I’m going to paint my nails for that fight, and I’m going to knock him out with my painted nails. –said Israel Adesanya
The middleweight champion further claimed that he will show off his painted nails to the camera after he has successfully knocked Strickland out and secured a victory. Adesanya made a comeback in his last fight and claimed his belt back from old rival Alex Pereira at UFC 287.
Sean Strickland calls Israel Adesanya ‘Chinese sl*t’
Israel Adesanya’s response was long overdue, as it came after a series of comments and trolling by Sean Strickland. The latter has targeted Adesanya’s passion for Anime and also called him a ‘Chinese sl*t recently.
For those who do not know, Adesanya spent a brief period of time in China for his kick-boxing career and was given the name ‘The Black Dragon’ there. He also did commercials to earn some extra money, and in one such advertisement, he was seen donning the Chinese flag, and the video went insanely viral. Strickland has been using this to his advantage to troll the Kiwi fighter.
As one would have thought, Strickland, who has been given the title shot out of nowhere, is going all in with his badmouthing as he has nothing to lose. Adesanya, on the other hand, has been called ‘cringy’ by many because of his antics inside and outside the octagon. So, do not be surprised if he actually shows up with painted nails and does the exact same celebration as he mentioned.