Strickland loss could be beginning of the end for Adesanya's career
How shock loss to Sean Strickland could be the beginning of the end for Israel Adesanya’s career – as UFC legend explains why Kiwi should NOT fight for the belt in his next bout
- Adesanya has lost two out of his last three
- Cormier believes he shouldn’t get rematch
- Strickland said it felt like Adesanya didn’t try
Israel Adesanya has won eight UFC title fights, but after his shock loss to Sean Strickland on Sunday the former middleweight kingpin’s career could now be on the slide.
It was a tough afternoon for Adesanya at UFC 293, who lost a unanimous decision to fifth-ranked Sean Strickland in the main event at Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney.
All three judges scored it 49-46 for the American, who dropped Adesanya in the first round.
It was the Nigerian-born Kiwi’s second loss from his last three outings, and he chose not to field questions from the media after defeat, instead putting his head coach Eugene Bareman in the spotlight as he said they want a rematch as soon as possible.
‘Whether (the UFC) grants that I’m not sure,’ Bareman said. ‘But we’re very confident we can change the outcome of this fight with very minor adjustments.’
Israel Adesanya’s shock defeat to Sean Strickland on Sunday could be beginning of the end for the UFC superstar’s career
‘The Last Stylebender’ has now lost two of his last three fights in the UFC
UFC boss Dana White also said he’d like to run it back, but Hall of Famer and commentator Daniel Cormier thinks the division needs to ‘move on’ now.
‘The last time Izzy lost, all we could speak about was he should be next again,’ Cormier said after UFC 293 pay-per-view broadcast.
‘I don’t think that this time. I don’t think he should fight for a belt next. I don’t think he should get an automatic rematch. I think the division needs to move on a little bit.’
Adesanya is unquestionably one of the best middleweights of all time, but his loss to Strickland has opened up the division to other bouts.
‘It’s like a brand new world, right? Like The Little Mermaid – a whole new world,’ Cormier said.
‘Sean Strickland now opens up the possibility of so many fresh matchups. [Jared] Cannonier just weighed in also and has a victory over Sean Strickland.
UFC legend Daniel Cormier believes Adesanya doesn’t deserve a rematch with Strickland because the middleweight division needs to move on to new title fights
‘But I’ve got to imagine Dricus Du Plessis will be the next guy, especially after being the one that was supposed to be here tonight. I’ll tell you, he’s kicking himself in South Africa right now, because if there was a time to get Adesanya, tonight was the night.
‘There was a lot that goes into this fight, and Sean Strickland did what he was supposed to do. But I figure Du Plessis, unless Khamzat Chimaev just completely wipes out Paulo Costa.’
Speaking to the press after the bout, Strickland questioned Adesanya’s performance and the ease of his victory as he said: ‘Feels like the guy didn’t even f****g try.
‘There were moments where he was throwing punches around, like, “Am I fighting a f*****g amateur?”‘
Adesanya is now in unprecedented territory as a professional now that he has become the only fighter in history to lose a UFC title twice in a year.
He posted a video after the bout on social media where he showed the damage he endured during the fight while saying ‘it’s not that bad, nothing broken, a little touched up’.
Strickland was disappointed with Adesanya’s performance, insisting it felt like his opponent wasn’t trying – and even resorted to dropping his hands and yelling at him to throw down with him in the final round of their fight (pictured)
‘Still thriving, it’s all good,’ Adesanya said. ‘I hate losing but I love living and I’m thriving. I’ll address the people but right now, I’ve got to put me first.’
Adesanya posted another video of himself partying in a bus and singing along to music, but still hasn’t addressed his lacklustre performance against Strickland.
‘The Last Stylebender’ was slammed by fans for his ‘snoozefest’ win over Jared Cannonier at UFC 276, with some spectators so disappointed in his performance that many were caught on video lining up to leave the venue before the bout had finished.
He followed that up by losing to Alex Pereira by technical knockout at UFC 281, then redeemed himself by taking his title back from the Brazilian with a devastating KO win at UFC 287 in April.
It remains to be seen whether he can redeem himself once more after what is easily the most shocking defeat of his career so far.
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