Team Sean Strickland defends Israel Adesanya's coach against internet trolls
Sean Strickland's team recently defended Israel Adesanya's coach against castigation and trolling from fans online.
In what many hailed as one of the biggest upsets in MMA history, Strickland out-struck and outworked the legendary Adesanya en route to a unanimous decision win at UFC 293 this past weekend. All three official judges scored the fight 49-46 in favor of Strickland, thereby enabling him to dethrone Adesanya and become the new UFC middleweight champion.
Certain sections of the MMA community have subsequently lambasted Israel Adesanya's head coach Eugene Bareman, who hails from the world-renowned City Kickboxing gym in Auckland, New Zealand. Bareman had six pupils compete at UFC 293, out of whom three emerged victorious and three lost.
A Twitter user who goes by the handle "@jasoneg33" posted a tweet with Eugene Bareman's photograph and suggested that Bareman ought to be criticized for his fighters' performances at UFC 293:
"I think its time to have a conversation bout him #UFC293"
It is believed that the Twitter user was particularly referring to UFC megastar Israel Adesanya's shocking defeat against Sean Strickland at UFC 293.
Strickland's head coach Eric Nicksick, of the Xtreme Couture gym in Las Vegas, responded to the aforementioned Twitter user. Defending Bareman, Nicksick tweeted:
"He’s absolutely elite. What he’s help build in a short amount of time, with limited resources due to proximity, is nothing short of miraculous. Honestly, had we lost that picture could’ve easily been mine."
Furthermore, Strickland's teammate and friend, UFC middleweight Chris Curtis, also tweeted in response to the criticism Bareman received from the Twitter user. Expressing his respect for Adesanya and Bareman, 'The Action Man' wrote:
"This... guys are throwing shots with 4oz gloves on. It's easy to end up on the wrong side of that and it happens to most if us more than once. Respect to Bareman, he has done wonders at City Kickboxing and he is becoming one of the best in the sport in a short time. #Respect"
Dana White on potential immediate rematch between Sean Strickland and Israel Adesanya
During the UFC 293 post-fight press conference, UFC president Dana White was asked whether the dominant former champion, Israel Adesanya, would be granted an immediate rematch against Sean Strickland. 'The Last Stylebender' was notably granted an immediate rematch after his loss to Alex Pereira last year.
Dana White replied that Israel Adesanya's recent fights against archnemesis Alex Pereira might have played a role in him possibly overlooking Sean Strickland. The UFC boss also indicated that an immediate rematch between Adesanya and Strickland could be on the cards:
"I think you do the rematch, absolutely. I mean, the rematch is interesting."
Watch White's assessment at 5:57 in the video below: