Sean Strickland believes Israel Adesanya was never a good fighter: “You had a close fight against Kelvin Gastelum”
Former UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland believes Israel Adesanya was never that good.
‘The Last Stylebender’ returned to the octagon on Saturday night in Australia. Back for the first time since a decision defeat to Sean Strickland last year, Israel Adesanya faced Dricus du Plessis. The South African won the gold from ‘Tarzan’ in January by split-decision, and was excited to face the former champion in his first title defense.
Through three rounds, the two were neck-and-neck. However, the fourth round saw Israel Adesanya get rocked, dragged down, and quickly submitted by Dricus du Plessis. Next up for the middleweight champion is expected to be a rematch with the aforementioned Sean Strickland. He earned the title shot in June, with a decision victory over Paulo Costa.
Speaking on the Verse Us with Eric Nicksick podcast, Sean Strickland reacted to Dricus du Plessis vs. Israel Adesanya. There, the former UFC middleweight champion made some interesting comments about ‘The Last Stylebender’. While Stickland is a bit biased, he believes that Adesanya was never that good of a fighter.
👀🤔Sean Strickland doesn’t believe Adesanya is a good fighter :
“Everyone’s like Izzy is this and that. I’ve sparred Kelvin (Gastelum) so many times, where I’m like you kind of had a close fight against Kelvin, like you’re not that fucking good, like you’re not that fucking… pic.twitter.com/TU2xLrwAdl
— Home of Fight (@Home_of_Fight) August 20, 2024
Sean Strickland reacts to Israel Adesanya’s UFC 305 loss to Dricus du Plessis
Sean Strickland explained in the podcast appearance, that he’s sparred with various former Israel Adesanya opponents, including Kelvin Gastelum. With that experience in mind, the former champion can’t help but take aim at the Nigerian fighter. In Strickland’s view, if you’re having close fights with the likes of Gastelum, you can’t be that impressive.
“So when he fought Kelvin, and I think Kelvin sucks.” Sean Strickland stated in the interview, discussing Israel Adesanya’s UFC title fight with Dricus du Plessis. “Everyone is like ‘Oh, Izzy is this and that’, dude, I’ve sparred Kelvin so many times. I’m like, you had a close fight with Kelvin, you’re not that f*cking good.”
He continued, “Like, you’re not that f*cking good. You fought f*cking [Paulo] Costa, and Costa was scared s*itless of you. You f*cking blew on him and he went to sleep. Izzy is just not that f*cking good.”
What do you make of these comments about former UFC champion Israel Adesanya? Do you agree with Sean Strickland?
This article appeared first on BJPENN.COM
Topics:
Israel Adesanya Sean Strickland UFC
