Israeli Adesanya knows that she can do better against Sean Strickland.
After regaining the middleweight crown from Alex Pereira five months ago, “The Last Stylebender” aimed to defend the title against Strickland at UFC 293 in Sydney, Australia. It was shocking to everyone as Strickland put on a right-out performance and shut down Adesanya’s offense towards a decisive unanimous decision victory.
Adesanya has been munching a bit to get it back ever since.
For the first time in his career, Adesanya is leaving the third straight defeat within the octagon. Still, “stylebenders” believe they can turn their clock back and reestablish themselves as one of the top middleweight dogs. To that end, Adesanya is looking to have a rematch with Strickland in 2025.
Offering insight into why Adesanya is so stubborn towards Strickland, Chael Sonnen detailed a recent conversation with the former two-time title holder.
“He wants to fight Sean Strickland,” Sonnen told her YouTube channel. “And he said, Strickland whipped him. They fought five rounds. They fought in Izzy’s heart. They fought five rounds, in Izzy’s heart. And Sean couldn’t live with him.
“He’s just stripped a lot of pressure off himself. All Izzy has to do is win one of the five rounds and do a better job. He won two of the five rounds. He did a better job. He did those great jobs.
Strickland’s performance against Izzy was not dominant, but all three judges awarded Adesanya in the second round, leading to a 49-46 scorecard trio in favor of “Tarzan.”
Israel Adesanya and Sean Strickland are 1-5 in their final six fights
Since beating Adesanya, Strickland has lost two of his last three, with both losses opposed to governing middleweight Doricus Duplesis.
Holding things down as a competitor ranked second in 185, Strickland has plenty of options in the top five. This includes a clash with former title holder Robert Whitaker, a showdown with top-ranked candidate Nassoldeen Imabov, or, of course, a rematch with Adesanya.