"Unexplainable" Sean Strickland loss much more difficult to accept for Israel Adesanya than Dricus du Plessis submission, says coach
Coach Eugene Bareman recently opened up about his star pupil Israel Adesanya losing two consecutive fights and claimed that the former UFC champion's loss to Sean Strickland was harder to accept than the Dricus du Plessis loss.
Adesanya faced Strickland in a middleweight title fight at UFC 293 last September. While the Nigerian-born Kiwi was expected to breeze past Strickland, 'Tarzan' surprisingly dominated the fight and ultimately took the 185-pound strap home via unanimous decision.
Adesanya then announced taking some time off and went on a hiatus for almost a year before returning against du Plessis at UFC 305 earlier this month. 'Stillknocks' snatched the middleweight title off Strickland earlier this year and managed to defend it against Adesanya via a fourth-round submission.
During a recent appearance on the Who The Fook Are These Guys?, Adesanya's coach addressed his shocking loss against Strickland and outlined why it was a harder loss to digest compared to the du Plessis one. He said:
"It was a very close fight, and at the end of the day Israel fatigued...That position, Israel’s done that a thousand times and got out of it a thousand times... You know what to do, but your brain’s not working, and your body’s not responding because you’re so fatigued."
Bareman continued:
"The Strickland loss, he’ll never get over. You just fought badly, and it was unexplainable. It’s intangible. It’s not measurable what caused it... But the Dricus fight, he was doing well. It was a great contest, and he got outmaneuvered. He got outdone... You can figure out exactly what happened, follow the path, figure out went wrong, and it’s very traceable... Any loss is hard, but trust me this one’s a lot easier to take than the Strickland one." [H/t: MMA Junkie]
Watch Eugene Bareman's full interview below:
Sean Strickland opens up on a potential Israel Adesanya rematch
Sean Strickland recently opened up about a potential Israel Adesanya sometime down the line. 'Tarzan' expressed a keen interest in rematching the Nigerian-born Kiwi and pointed out that he's never turned down a challenge.
During an interview with ESPN MMA's Brett Okamoto, Strickland was asked about potentially running it back with Adesanya, to which he replied:
"I've never picked a fight, I've never said no, I've never said anything. If [Adesanya] wants to come run that sh*t back, run it back, dude. I don't give a f**k. Just f**king leave your dog collar at home you f**king weirdo."
With Dricus du Plessis' UFC 305 win over Adesanya, Strickland is expected to face the South African fighter in a rematch next.
Check out Sean Strickland's comments below: