What's next for Israel Adesanya? UFC Veteran weighs in on immediate rematch possibility for the former middleweight champion
Israel Adesanya lost the middleweight title as he suffered a shocking defeat to Sean Strickland via unanimous decision at UFC 293. UFC veteran Matt Brown recently shared that he believes 'The Last Stylebender' deserves an immediate rematch.
Speaking on his podcast, The Fighter vs. The Writer, 'The Immortal' stated:
"The reason that he deserves an immediate rematch, in my opinion - and not necessarily immediate, I think he needs a little bit of time off first - I think he must have been one of the most active champions in UFC history. He's been through the grinder, taking every oncomer, but the reason that I think he shouldn't have to fight someone else is not because of his performance against Strickland, but because of all of his accolades leading up. All of his fights that he's done leading up."
Brown continued:
"He's had an extremely busy schedule for a champion. He's completely dominated almost everyone except for [Alex] Pereira and now Strickland. He's had amazing fights. I think he's earned the right to not have to refight, work his way back to the title. I think he's earned the right that he should be able to get a rematch basically any time he ever loses a title for the rest of his life."
Check out Matt Brown's comments on Israel Adesanya below (starting at the 24:06 mark):
While Adesanya was defeated via unanimous decision at UFC 293, promotional frontman Dana White shared that he will likely fight for the title in his next bout. Although Brown noted that there is a possibility Strickland faces another contender before 'The Last Stylebender' is ready to return, the two-time middleweight champion has expressed an interest in fighting at UFC 300.
Daniel Cormier reveals Sean Strickland's comments on rematch with Israel Adesanya
While Sean Strickland shocked the mixed martial arts world by defeating Israel Adesanya at UFC 293, it is likely that the pair will fight again. UFC Hall of Famer Daniel Cormier recently shared that 'Tarzan' believes a rematch will be tougher, stating:
"He was like, 'DC, I promise you, I didn't think that the fight was going to be like that. He felt like, he said, 'I was having my way with him.' He goes, 'I don't understand', but one thing he did say that was very key, he goes, 'but in the rematch - because I imagine there’s going to be a rematch - he goes, 'I think it’ll be harder.' He thinks that he might have got overlooked a little bit by Adesanya."
Check out Daniel Cormier's comments on a rematch between Sean Strickland and Israel Adesanya below (starting at the 6:59 mark):
While Strickland was able to pull off the shocking upset, it appears that he is expecting a better performance from his opponent in a potential rematch. Many viewers, including Dana White, did not feel that Adesanya looked like himself at UFC 293.