UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya was running out of contenders for his upcoming headline performance at UFC 293 in Sydney, Australia.
That’s why he pushed for Sean Strickland to get the shot behind the scenes, and wants Strickland – who he called an “idiot” – to thank him for the favor.
Israel Adesanya: “Idiot” Sean Strickland Should Thank Him For UFC 293 Fight
“It wasn’t about him. He should thank me for actually making the fight happen, because without me, he wouldn’t have actually got the fight. I pushed for him to get the fight, because he was the next logical guy.
I’ve beaten all the top 5, some of them twice. So you can’t punish us for being great, so yeah, I pushed for him to get the fight.
He’s an idiot. I can’t say too much about that. He’s an idiot, so he just has to behave himself and actually show up and just fight.”
Chief among the UFC’s concerns about giving Strickland such a high-profile matchup is Strickland’s no-filter approach to mic work.
“Like I said, he’s an idiot, and the UFC don’t want him embarrassing the company. But yeah, that’s all I’ll say about that.
He should thank me. He should really thank me for actually making him get the fight. [Bareman] knows what happened behind the scenes. I pushed for it, and I’m glad the UFC trusted me to listen to me.”
Adesanya was supposed to fight Dricus Du Plessis after Du Plessis demolished top middleweight contender Robert Whittaker. Adesanya entered the Octagon, heated words were exchanged, and Du Plessis was all but confirmed for UFC 293. Until he wasn’t, and “The Last Stylebender” might be ready to move on.
“You only get one shot. “You don’t take it, look, you saw my last fight, two weeks out right there on that spot.
I f***** my leg up badly and [Bareman] knows I could have pulled out of that fight if I wanted to, but that was never a thought in my mind.
We’re built different at this gym. All it takes is a couple of good wins and he’s bumped out of his position, so he can’t sit comfortably.
He shouldn’t be surprised if he has to do another fight before he gets a title shot because he didn’t go, so we’ll see what happens.
Obviously, we’re keen to fight him, but we don’t know whether that’s going to happen with the landscape, and the environment, and hopefully he’s still in a position where he can fight us next.”
