Sean Strickland blames UFC for botching Israel Adesanya fight; challenges to settle in parking lot
Sean Strickland has suggested that the UFC is to blame for botching his potential fight against Israel Adesanya. Earlier this month, Dricus du Plessis faced former UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker in a pivotal matchup at the UFC 290 event.
The fight witnessed Dricus du Plessis defeat Robert Whittaker via second-round TKO. Following that, Du Plessis faced off with Israel Adesanya inside the octagon. The consensus was that UFC middleweight champion Adesanya would defend his title against Du Plessis at UFC 293 at the Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, Australia, on September 10th, 2023.
Israel Adesanya, a Nigerian-New Zealand fighter, is a fan-favorite Down Under and has consistently maintained that he'd love to compete at the event in Australia.
However, it was recently revealed that Du Plessis -- who's fresh off his fight at UFC 290 -- won't be able to recover, train, and make a quick turnaround for UFC 293 in September. Therefore, it was believed that Sean Strickland could replace him and fight Israel Adesanya for the title at UFC 293.
Both 'Tarzan' and Adesanya asserted that they'd be willing to fight each other. Nevertheless, Sean Strickland has now insinuated that the fight's unlikely to materialize at UFC 293. The American fighter implied that he pitched the matchup to the UFC but the organization wasn't interested in booking it. Responding to a fan's tweet regarding the possible matchup, Strickland tweeted:
“Ufc don’t want it.. sorry man.”
@_Jan_Wojnowski_ Ufc don't want it.. sorry man
Furthermore, Strickland has put forth another tweet, seemingly criticizing the UFC for not booking the much-discussed fight between him and Adesanya. 'Tarzan' appeared to jestingly propose that perhaps he and 'Izzy' could fight in the parking lot for the Australian fans. Strickland tweeted:
"I will say it is wild they are having a card like that and don't have a headline 6 weeks out. Someone at the ufc really dropped the ball on this... I offered. Best I could do. Maybe we can just have a parking lot event after for the aussies."
I will say it is wild they are having a card like that and don't have a headline 6 weeks out. Someone at the ufc really dropped the ball on this...
I offered. Best I could do. Maybe we can just have a parking lot event after for the aussies. twitter.com/yeeeeesirski/s…
Israel Adesanya vs. Sean Strickland - What did the UFC middleweight champion say about the dream matchup?
In his most recent fight, Israel Adesanya reclaimed the UFC middleweight title by defeating archnemesis Alex Pereira via second-round KO in April 2023. Adesanya then turned his focus to Dricus du Plessis in the following days, with their feud escalating after the latter beat Robert Whittaker at UFC 290.
As of this time, it's unclear as to whether Israel Adesanya would defend his UFC middleweight title against Sean Strickland or a different opponent next. Regardless, a few days back, Adesanya lambasted Du Plessis for reportedly withdrawing from UFC 293. Moreover, calling for a fight between himself and Sean Strickland, 'Izzy' stated:
"I don't even know how to start this, Dricus Du Pu*sy... You a bi*ch, that's why you're not taking this fight. Your foot's sore... You're out. Strickland, you're in. Let's do 'The Man Dance.' I'll show you how to really dance."
Check out Adesanya's comments below:
Dickless DuPussay. pic.twitter.com/UQwRF2a5tU