UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya is set to defend his title once more at UFC 293. His opponent for the bout is Sean Strickland, who has campaigned on a war of words against Adesanya for several years now, ramping up the rhetoric in recent weeks, deriding Adesanya as a “guy who paints his nails. Adesanya was unimpressed, issuing what may be the first accessorised threat in MMA history.
“He’s an idiot. I’m not going to lose to an idiot. He says he’s not going to lose to a guy that jerks off to cartoons or paints his nails. Well, I’m going to paint my nails for that fight and I’m going to knock him out with my painted nails.
Israel Adesanya On UFC 293: “I’m going to knock him out with my painted nails!”
I don’t listen to people […] I only listen to me and my team and this guy, he’s already pissed me off with his energy. The way he comes across and the way he tries to antagonize me.” Adesanya continued, taking personal issue with Strickland’s on-camera conduct.
“I don’t like the way he conducts himself. Even his sparring footage will pop up in my feed sometimes and I’m just like what the f***? Who does that? He’s a gym hero. He’s just an idiot and he’s not the kind of person I associate myself with and also he’s fugazi.
The way he is normally backstage is not the same way when the crowd’s there. When the crowd’s there, he puts on the clown persona and tries to entertain people, which they love and it’s cool, but he’s not the same.
I even put a little receipt, just one of them, on a clip I did [running into him] backstage — if you want to have this energy at the press conference, you could have had this energy backstage when I smacked you on the ass. He’s a fake guy.”
Adesanya then reiterated the threat, claiming that his personal issues with Strickland are motivating him only two weeks from the fight. “I’m going to paint my nails and knock him out.
That vision right there gets me up. That’s what motivates me because I’ve had that vision of having my nails painted, knocking him out and just showing my nails to the camera like look, with my frosted tips, I knocked his b**** ass out.
“That vision right there, to make that vision come true, I’ve done everything in my power make sure I knock this guy out.”
