Israel Adesanya admits that a fight against Sean Strickland interests him.
Israel Adesanya is the UFC middleweight champion. Being the champion comes with having a target on your back. Although he is already matched up with Robert Whittaker for this weekend’s UFC 271, there are already people calling for the next shot. One of those people calling for their shot is Sean Strickland.
Strickland is coming off a split decision victory over Jack Hermansson just last week, and he’s been turning heads both inside the cage and out.
Strickland has been vocal about wanting a shot at Adesanya in his next time out and could have the résumé to prove it. Strickland has won six fights in a row and has risen to the #6 spot in the rankings.
In addition to his skills and win streak, Strickland has become more well-known around the MMA-sphere. Strickland has been making wild claims about his desire to cause harm to people and has been seen in sparring videos doing so.
Strickland’s odd behavior has made him the target of headlines and the saying “all news is good news” might fit him perfectly. Because all the attention has gotten him on Adesanya’s radar.
When asked about a possible matchup with Strickland, Adesanya had this to say:
“I like fresh meat. I like fresh blood,” Adesanya said during a UFC 271 media day scrum. “And we’ll see. We’ll see after this weekend. I gotta see what Bumson and Cannonier do this weekend, and we’ll see.
“That’s gonna make a lot of money if me and him actually get to fight. Trust. [LAUGHS] I’m a bit of a troll, but I keep it under wraps. But yeah, if that happens, it happens. But we’ll see after this weekend.”
Although interest from both parties might be there, it seems unlikely that Strickland will be next in line. Adesanya was right when he mentioned Derek Brunson and Jared Cannonier. Both men could be the logical next choice with a win at UFC 271.
As for Strickland and Adesanya, they might get the chance to meet in the future—or if Adesanya loses on Saturday night.
Would you like to see Sean Strickland step up to fight Israel Adesanya?
