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Israel Adesanya ‘quietly confident’ about Sean Strickland rematch

James Herrick / UFC / September 21, 2023

Israel Adesanya Sean Strickland UFC 293 — Nov 12, 2022; New York, NY, USA; Israel Adesanya (red gloves) and Alex Pereira (blue gloves) during UFC 281 at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Jessica Alcheh-USA TODAY Sports

Israel Adesanya ‘quietly confident’ about Sean Strickland rematch

At UFC 293, Israel Adesanya lost his title to Sean Strickland, but he is “quietly confident” that he will regain the belt in a rematch.

Adesanya addressed his UFC 293 loss on his YouTube channel, FREESTYLEBENDER. All quotes via The Score.

“I’m quietly confident,” Adesanya said. “That’s after watching the fight. I was like, ‘Oh yeah, I see (what went wrong).’

“As soon as I watched it, it’s the same reaction every time I’m like ‘Oh, that wasn’t that bad’ … the way I felt in there was different than how it looked.”

Strickland pulled off the historic upset in dominant fashion as he won the bout 49-46 on all three judges’ scorecards. Adesanya credited Strickland’s success to his ability to pressure consistently for the entire fight.

“I wasn’t able to get my rhythm ’cause of his pressure. He was right there constantly,” Adesanya said, adding, “It was his night. He got it done. I made another dream come true.”

How long can Sean Strickland rule the middleweight division?

It has not been determined if Adesanya will be granted an immediate rematch. UFC CEO Dana White has stated that he wants to see an immediate rematch, though that does not guarantee that Adesanya gets the fight, however.

It is very easy to make a case against Adesanya deserving the fight. Despite being a great champion, he is 1-2 in his last three fights and was dominated by Strickland. Plus, he had just regained the title from Alex Pereira and did not have any title defense in his reign.

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