"I smacked you on the a** like you're my b***h" - When Sean Strickland riled up Israel Adesanya during UFC 276 presser
UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya and No.6-ranked contender Sean Strickland have never faced each other inside the octagon. But they have sparred outside of it, in a press conference ahead of UFC 276 when both fighters took on different opponents on the same card.
Adesanya was defending his title against Jared Cannonier while Strickland took on the in-form Alex Pereira. Pereira was en route to being fast-tracked to a title shot against Adesanya because of the history between the two.
Sean Strickland chose to rile up 'The Last Stylebender' by highlighting his losing record against Pereira and the two got into an intense exchange.
Strickland said:
“2 and 0 against Izzy, what was it? 2 and 0? [Did you watch the whole fight?] Nah, I don’t watch fights. [Exactly, do your f*cking job next time] Oh. Oh man, I made the champion mad with his f*cking frosted tips and his gay little watch. Oh no! I’m just joking, Izzy is a savage. No man that beats on the cartoon is gonna beat me. Calm down! Listen bro, you’re gonna break a nail... I don't judge his cartoon porn addiction.”
Israel Adesanya hit right back while threatening to knock out Strickland.
“Eh watch out, hey what happened before we walked on stage? I smacked you on the a*s like my b***h. And that’s facts. If you win this fight, when we fight, I’ll knock you out. I’mma do a TikTok dance over your grave. I’ll break my nail in your face. They [Pereira and Strickland] have been asked more about me than about each other.”
Check out their hilarious exchange below:
Israel Adesanya picks between Jan Blachowicz and Alex Pereira at UFC 291
Former middleweight champion Alex Pereira is set to make his light heavyweight debut in the UFC against former 205-pound champion Jan Blachowicz.
Israel Adesanya is familiar with both opponents as he has lost once to each across both divisions. He weighed in on their upcoming UFC 291 bout on his YouTube channel and mentioned their distinct fighting approaches.
'The Last Stylebender' backed his old nemesis Alex Pereira to win via a knockout.
“If Jan does what I think he’s gonna do, he’s gonna get caught with a left hook. I don’t think this goes the distance. If it does, Jan wins. I felt [Blachowicz’s power]. I think Alex hits harder. It’s just the way he throws, the technique he throws with, the technique he grounds himself... Jan could definitely learn how to hit harder but if Jan gets him down, I think he’s just going to control him there for three rounds. I’m going Alex by knockout."
Check out Israel Adesanya's full comments below on his YouTube channel (9:09):