"Peter Pan with painted nails" - Sean Strickland claims Israel Adesanya 'ran' from Jared Cannonier at UFC 276
Sean Strickland called out Israel Adesanya for his UFC 276 performance against Jared Cannonier. It was recently announced that Strickland will take on 'The Killa Gorilla' in a UFC Fight Night main event. Both fighters are coming off losses suffered at UFC 276, where Strickland lost via first-round knockout to Alex Pereira.
UFC announced a middleweight matchup between Jared Cannonier and Sean Strickland for Oct. 15.
The promotion has not revealed a location, but it will most likely take place in Las Vegas. https://t.co/EWOkQhzu9b
In a recent interview with The Schmo, 'Tarzan' previewed his upcoming matchup, stating that he will be far more aggressive than Israel Adesanya was against Cannonier:
"I'm excited, man. Jared's a solid guy. He's a f**king hell of a fighter. It's kind of a shame Izzy ran from him and made a really boring fight out of it, but it's not going to be like that when me and him fight. It ain't going to be boring. I ain't going to f**king run around and dance around the ring like f**king Peter Pan with painted nails. We're going to f**king fight."
Strickland continued to target Adesanya at the end of the interview by saying:
"I know Jared lost to Izzy because f**king twinkle toes, Peter Pan with his painted nails, his manicures, ran around the cage, fought like a bi**h. I ain't going to f**king do that. Me and Jared, we're going to stand in the middle and we're going to do the f**king man dance, and someone's going to go to sleep."
Fans have been unimpressed with Israel Adesanya's performances lately, even calling for UFC president Dana White to stop his fights if they are too boring. Adesanya defended himself from the criticism, noting that the same thing happened to Anderson Silva during his dominant run.
While some fans strictly watch for knockouts and violence, it is not in a fighter's best interests to absorb damage consistently. Adesanya has seemingly prioritized winning fights while limiting his risk, as most of his fights lately have ended with him emerging victorious via unanimous decision.
Watch Sean Strickland's full interview below:
Israel Adesanya slammed Sean Strickland for aggressive sparring
Sean Strickland was recently called out by Israel Adesanya for his sparring practices. Strickland has been notorious for his high intensity during sparring sessions, which the middleweight champion doesn't respect.
Watch Sean Strickland knock out his sparring partner below:
Why won’t anybody spar me?
Also Sean Strickland: https://t.co/blZTOMsWwu
Adesanya claimed that Strickland had done more damage in sparring sessions than in actual fights. The two fighters have not met inside the octagon thus far. However, it is possible that Strickland could enter the title picture with a win against Jared Cannonier.
Watch 'The Last Style Bender' criticize Strickland below: