Israel Adesanya points to "racist" Australian crowd as the reason for Sean Strickland's overwhelming support at UFC 293
Sean Strickland entered enemy territory when he faced off against Israel Adesanya in the main event of UFC 293 in 2023.
The pay-per-view event was held in Australia, and despite Adesanya being a citizen of the neighboring country, New Zealand, it appeared that the crowd was in favor of the title challenger.
'Tarzan' is known for his controversial nature, but he received overwhelming support from fans during his first bid to become a UFC champion. The then-champion also received his fair share of support, but the Australian public's backing of Strickland certainly came as a surprise.
'The Last Stylebender' recently appeared on The MMA Hour hosted by Ariel Helwani, who asked the former middleweight champion if he was stunned by Strickland's support at UFC 293.
He said this:
"Nah, they're racist. Also, I think it's just me and them, it wasn't my week. It was just him. He knows how to pander, he's a great politician. Put it that way. He's a great politician. But yeah, it was his week, his moment to shine. And what a reign."
Watch Israel Adesanya's interview below from 11:50:
Sean Strickland appears to have agreed to fight Paulo Costa following pay dispute
Sean Strickland appears to have scheduled his next fight, an exciting clash with middleweight contender Paulo Costa.
The Brazilian recently claimed that the former champion had turned down an offer to fight him. This led to Strickland responding to 'Borrachinha' by stating that he had not turned the fight down and that his lack of interest in the bout was due to financial reasons.
'Tarzan' alluded to being offered $200,000/$200,000 for the fight, a surprisingly low amount considering he held the title going into his previous fight with Dricus du Plessis at UFC 297.
But it seems that Strickland has been offered a contract he deems acceptable after he took to X, hinting at a fight between him and Costa being organized.
The American wrote this:
"Well had a meeting with the UFC and told them that I don't want to be rich. I want to be able to support a family after my career is done. They actually were pretty supportive, made it happen. Thank you fans! Alright, @BorrachinhaMMA you got your wish... Let's do some bleeding."
See Sean Strickland's post below: