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Israel Adesanya meets Sean Strickland in Australia, but the matchup didn’t happen without some delicate behind-the-scenes negotiations, according to the champion.
“The Last Stylebender” defends the UFC middleweight title against Strickland in the main event of UFC 293 on Sept. 10. Ahead of that matchup, Adesanya was joined by coach Eugene Bareman for a media scrum at their gym in New Zealand, where they discussed the circumstances surrounding the fight.
Strickland has developed a reputation for off-the-cuff and offensive comments, earning him criticism from the media and also endearing him to a section of the MMA fan base. His fight with Adesanya was made official just a month away from the upcoming Australia pay-per-view, and Adesanya was coy when asked why an announcement wasn’t made earlier.
“It wasn’t about him,” Adesanya said. “He should thank me for actually making the fight happen, because without me, he wouldn’t have actually got the fight. I pushed for him to get the fight, because he was the next logical guy. I’ve beaten all the top 5, some of them twice. So you can’t punish us for being great, so yeah, I pushed for him to get the fight.
“He’s an idiot. I can’t say too much about that. He’s an idiot, so he just has to behave himself and actually show up and just fight.”
Adesanya hinted that Strickland’s persona was an obstacle in making the fight happen.
“Like I said, he’s an idiot, and the UFC don’t want him embarrassing the company,” Adesanya said. “But yeah, that’s all I’ll say about that. He should thank me. He should really thank me for actually making him get the fight. [Bareman] knows what happened behind the scenes. I pushed for it, and I’m glad the UFC trusted me to listen to me.”
Another reason that Strickland’s booking came as a surprise to some is that Adesanya rival Dricus Du Plessis has long been considered the most compelling option to face Adesanya next.
