Controversial persona aside, Sean Strickland reminded everyone that he’s also a high-level fighter with his upset of Israel Adesanya at UFC 293. Strickland himself was a bit surprised by his performance against an opponent who was regarded as one of the greatest middleweights of all-time.
Strickland’s Unexpected Performance
“F—k, I think I proved myself wrong,” Strickland said at Saturday’s post-fight press conference. “F—k, you watch Izzy go and f—k everybody up and you walk through him pretty easily, it’s kinda weird. Kinda weird. Just a weird day, guys, a weird f—-ing day. Weird day. Here we are.” In addition to becoming the first foe to score a knockdown of Adesanya, Strickland largely outworked the City Kickboxing stalwart on the feet over the course of the 25-minute affair. That wasn’t necessarily the game plan heading into the fight.
Game Plan Was to Wrestle
“The game plan was to wrestle, you guys. We wrestled all camp,” Strickland said. “But when you’re a little autistic, you just do what you do. I think I’m one of the best strikers in the world. Any time you’re doing the ‘man dance,’ you’re one punch away from being knocked out. But I could spar with any world champion boxer and get the better of them. I don’t know, man. I just think I’m one of the best strikers in the world.”
UFC president Dana White suggested that Adesanya looked off during his portion of the post-fight press conference, and Strickland also seemed confused by his adversary’s demeanor in the Octagon. Regardless of the circumstances, the UFC’s middleweight division feels wide open after Saturday’s surprising results. According to Strickland, his skill often gets overlooked because of his outspoken ways.
“G——n, dude. I feel like the guy didn’t even try,” Strickland said. “There were times where he was throwing punches and I was like, ‘Am I fighting an amateur, right now? What the f—k is going on?’ But yeah, I think I run my mouth a lot and people forget I can fight. But here we are, you guys. You’re going to have to talk to me a bit longer. Sorry about that.”