WATCH: Israel Adesanya shares backstage video of slapping Sean Strickland’s a** before serious back-and-forth at infamous UFC 276 presser
Israel Adesanya shares old video of hitting Sean Strickland a** before the pair went into verbal altercation at UFC 276
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Sean Strickland and Israel Adesanya (Image Courtesy: UFC)
The middleweight champion Israel Adesanya will be defending his title against Strickland in the main event of UFC 293 on September 9th at Sydney’s Qudos Bank Arena. The main card will be available on pay-per-view, with prelims expected to air on ESPN and ESPN+.
Originally, Adesanya was set to face Dricus Du Plessis, but due to Du Plessis’ injury preventing him from participating in UFC 293, Strickland was chosen as the replacement. Ahead of the fight, Izzy has already started the mental warfare against the challenger. The fighter recently posted an old video of him and Sean Strickland at the UFC 276 presser where the pair started their rivalry.
In the video, Izzy can be seen smacking Strickland’s back which was followed by a heated argument between the fighters once they got into the stage. Izzy wrote: “Behind the scenes it ain’t what it seems.”
It was Strickland who started his beef with Izzy by calling him gay for painting his nails and watching anime. Given the history between them, fight fans are actually more excited about the UFC 293 press conference rather than the fight.
Israel Adesanya wants Sean Strickland to thank him for asking UFC to make the fight
Israel Adesanya is one of the most active champions in modern-day MMA and has been competing continuously for the last few years. Izzy is known for not backing out of any challenge and always fighting any challenger that comes in the way.
The fight with Dricus du Plessis was one such challenge but now he has been replaced with Sean Strickland. The fighter is currently on a two-fight streak but the UFC didn’t want him to fight for the title. In the latest interview, Adesanya confirms that he pushed UFC to make the fight as the promotion was not sure about Strickland the main event just yet.
“He’s an idiot and you know, the UFC don’t want him embarrassing the company. But yeah, that’s all I’ll say about that, so he should thank me. He should really thank me for actually making him get the fight. I pushed for it,” said Izzy in an interview with its time for sports.
Adesanya has been fighting twice or even thrice a year and this time it’s no different. Waiting for Dricus du Plessis to get healed and come back is not something Izzy wants instead he plans to add another title defense to his legacy.
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Soumya Ranjan
(2167 Articles Published)