Before they engage into battle in the Octagon, the war of words between Israel Adesanya and Sean Strickland continues, and the UFC middleweight champion’s latest remark about the challenger is calling him insecure.
If you want to be a tough guy, make it the first impression: Israel Adesanya
“The Last Stylebender” is set to defend his 185-pound gold against Strickland in the main event of UFC 293 on 10th September in Sydney. The fight will mark Adesanya’s first defense of the second title reign following the rematch against Alex Pereira in April.
Strickland, on the other hand, has won both of his two UFC fights of this year- against Nassourdine Imavov and Abusupiyan Magomedov at UFC Vegas 67 and UFC Vegas 76 respectively. UFC 293 will mark the first UFC title shot for “Tarzan”.
Well before the fight was booked, both Adesanya and Strickland have traded shots at one another, and the grudge between them has been prevalent since UFC 276 in July 2022, where Adesanya defeated Jared Cannonier and Strickland was defeated by Pereira.
Revisiting that infamous press conference of UFC 276, Adesanya told The Mac Life about what his first impression of Strickland was.
“Sean’s very insecure,” said Adesanya. “You only have one first impression, and if you want to be a tough guy, make it the first impression. [My] first impression: He’s a b****. I didn’t mean to make him a b****, I was just like, ‘Hey, what’s up buddy? How are you doing?’ He was like, ‘Oh, don’t do me like your boy [Paulo] Costa,’ and then gets on stage and was like, ‘I’ll come [down] there right now.’ That’s why when he tries to do this s*** to me now, it doesn’t work.”
Strickland has often jibed at Adesanya for being an anime lover as well as for having painted nails. In his response, the champ told MMA Fighting that he plans to break his nails on Strickland’s face.
“I’m going to break my nails on his face,” Adesanya said. “For me, the guy is insecure. I’ve dealt with him behind the cameras, he’s very insecure, comes up with a lot of stuff, but that’s a him problem not a me problem. I know who I am, and I’ve done the work on myself. I don’t give a f***. I’ve got to knock him out, just so I can do a TikTok dance over his grave.”
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