"The belt's just a nice accessory" - Israel Adesanya makes shocking admission about what the 185lbs championship means to him
Former UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya has made a shocking admission about what the belt means to him.
Adesanya entered the octagon earlier this month at UFC 293 to mark the first title defense of his second reign against Sean Strickland. Despite walking into the fight as a massive favorite, the fight seemingly didn't go as planned for 'The Last Stylebender'.
As a result, Israel Adesanya was handed an upset defeat at the hands of Sean Strickland who won the fight via unanimous decision. Speaking about losing the belt during a recently uploaded video on his YouTube channel, the former middleweight champion claimed that he's got to a level where belts don't matter anymore. He said:
"The belts never mattered to me. I mean it does obviously but like how many times have I said, it's just a fancy tiara that brings more money and this and that...but I've gone to the level that the belt's just a nice accessory. I already got belts, I got many belts. I'm just gonna do it again, just for fun, just for fun."
Catch his comments in the video below (19:33):
Michael Bisping reacts to Israel Adesanya being ranked No. 1 by ESPN
Michael Bisping believes Israel Adesanya is undeserving of the No.1 spot in the middleweight rankings released by ESPN recently. Speaking about Adesanya's performance against Strickland during an episode of his podcast with co-host Anthony Smith, Bisping claimed 'Tarzan' looked much better than 'The Last Stylebender' during their fight.
While further speaking about how Sean Strickland is deserving of being in the top spot, Michael Bisping said:
"What it comes down to is being effective in a fight, being able to beat the other person in a fight. This isn't a ranking for style points, this isn't a technique standpoint. This is the fighter's ability and Sean clearly showed, four rounds to one, almost finished him in the first, it's crazy, he was clearly the better fighter."
He added:
"And that's not the conversation we're having, because the reality is, you're only as good as your last fight. Izzy's last fight was garbage, he never showed up."
Catch Bisping's comments in the video below (2:27 onwards):