Win or lose, Israel Adesanya knows he can do better against Sean Strickland.
After reclaiming the middleweight crown from Alex Pereira five months earlier, ‘The Last Stylebender’ aimed to defend his title against Strickland at UFC 293 in Sydney, Australia. What went down was a shock to everyone, as Strickland delivered a lights-out performance, shutting down Adesanya’s offense en route to a decisive unanimous decision victory.
Adesanya has been chomping at the bit to get that one back ever since.
For the first time in his career, Adesanya is coming off his third-straight loss inside the Octagon. Still, the ‘Stylebender’ believes he can turn back the clock and re-establish himself as one of the middleweight division’s top dogs. To do so, Adesanya is aiming for a rematch with Strickland in 2025.
Offering some insight into why Adesanya is so adamant on facing Strickland, Chael Sonnen detailed a recent conversation he had with the former two-time titleholder.
“He talks about he wants to fight Sean Strickland,” Sonnen said on his YouTube channel. “And he said why. He said that Strickland whipped him. They fought five rounds. They didn’t do a fight in Izzy’s mind. They fought five times in Izzy’s mind, five rounds. And Sean swept him, and Izzy can’t live with it. He’s got to get that back.
“He just took a lot of pressure off himself. All Izzy needs to do is win one of those five rounds to have done a better job. He wins two of those five rounds, he’s done a much better job. He wins three of those rounds, he’s done a terrific job. Oh, by the way, and he wins the entire contest. It was a very, very intelligent way that he worded this.”
While Strickland’s performance against Izzy was nothing short of dominant, all three judges awarded Adesanya the second round, leading to a trio of 49-46 scorecards in favor of ‘Tarzan.’
Israel Adesanya and Sean Strickland are 1-5 in their last six fights combined
Since beating Adesanya, Strickland has lost two of his last three, with both of the losses coming against reigning middleweight king Dricus Du Plessis.
Still holding things down as the No. 2 ranked contender at 185, Strickland has plenty of options within the top five, including a clash with ex-titleholder Robert Whittaker, a showdown with top-ranked contender Nassourdine Imavov, or, of course, a rematch with Adesanya.
