Israel Adesanya Breaks Silence On Loss To Sean Strickland: "Felt Like A Bad Dream"

Former UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya has opened up after falling to Sean Strickland at UFC 293.

Adesanya lost to Strickland by unanimous decision in the UFC 293 headliner earlier this month. It was regarded as one of the biggest upsets in UFC history after Adesanya entered the fight as a massive betting favorite.

Adesanya didn’t take long after the fight to briefly address his following and promised to open up more in the coming weeks. Similar to how he handled the UFC 281 loss to Alex Pereira, he isn’t shying away after suffering from the jaws of defeat.

As promised, Adesanya has explained his assessment of how UFC 293 played out and opened up on the aftermath.

Israel Adesanya After Sean Strickland Loss: “We’re Quietly Confident”

During a recent video uploaded to his FREESTYLEBENDER YouTube channel, Adesanya opened up on how things transpired at UFC 293.

“That just felt like a bad dream,” Adesanya said. “Feeling it, and seeing it are completely different. I called Eugene [Bareman] right afterwards and we talked, same thing, we’re quietly confident. [The fight was] surprisingly fast. I didn’t even know it was the last round, I was like ‘This is the last round? F*ck’. I was like okay, vamanos, I needed to do something. 

“It was just the way I felt in the fight… It was also the way he worked. He never let me get into my rhythm at all… Just wasn’t able to get my rhythm because of his pressure, he was right there constantly. Whenever I was setting him up, because he’s right there, his coach would help him and I’d just be like ‘F*ck’. It was just a good gameplan from their end. For me, I wasn’t able to adjust on the fly.”

The 34-year-old Adesanya could potentially face Strickland in an immediate rematch next year. UFC President Dana White hinted after UFC 293 that the rematch makes sense for both sides.

Adesanya defeated Pereira at UFC 287 to re-claim the middleweight title. Before his fights with Pereira, he defended the belt five times, including against Jared Cannonier at UFC 276.

Adesanya’s return could be booked in the coming months, and it might only be a matter of time until he returns to potentially earn himself a third middleweight title reign.

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