Sean Strickland might get his wish.
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Middleweight champion, Israel Adesanya, sent the mixed martial arts (MMA) world into a frenzy late last night (Weds., July 19. 2023). “The Last Stylebender” continued his verbal lambasting of No. 1 contender, Dricus Du Plessis, hinting that the potential next title challenger might not be able to compete at UFC 293 in Sydney, Australia on Sept. 10, 2023. Therefore, opening the door for Strickland, who called for his shot after winning his most recent bout against Abus Magomedov via second round technical knockout (watch highlights).
“As much as I don’t think Dricus is that good and I think ‘Izzy’ beats Dricus, I understand Dricus. Dricus, I understand you,” Strickland told Helen Yee. “It is very natural just to fight, which I just fought like a week before you, and them to be like, ‘Hey, do you want to fly across the world to fight a guy on seven weeks’ notice?’ It is very natural to say, ‘I might not want to do that.’ But I’m a f—king man, I’m not a f—king p—sy. If you pay me, I have a price. You pay me money, I’ll f—king fight him right here.
“So, unlike Dricus, who’s probably a smarter man, the true African he is, I am not,” he concluded. “You f—king pay me, we’ll fight right here.”
After Adesanya’s latest public outburst, MMA Mania confirmed with sources that Adesanya vs. Strickland is now being worked on as the next title fight at 185 pounds. Strickland admitted there’s truth to what Adesanya said, reiterating that it’s all about coming to a deal at this point.
“We’re in talks,” Strickland said. “Like I said, it just comes down to f—king pay me. Do we really want to watch Dricus and ‘Izzy’ fight? No. We don’t want to watch Dricus and ‘Izzy’ fight. You want to watch me fight. Am I gonna win? I don’t know, but I’m gonna go in there, I’m gonna punch that f—king Chinese motherf—ker right in the face.”
This story originally appeared on MMA Mania
