Exclusive: Adrian Yanez explains why Israel Adesanya losing 'baffled' him despite Sean Strickland being no 'spaz'

Adrian Yanez recently shared his two cents on Sean Strickland beating Israel Adesanya at UFC 293 to become the new middleweight champion. The 29-year-old bantamweight admitted that he didn't expect to see 'Tarzan' outpoint the former middleweight champion over five rounds despite not being as technically gifted.

Strickland and Adesanya faced each other in a middleweight title fight at UFC 293 in Sydney last weekend. Despite 'The Last Stylebender' being an overwhelming favorite going into the fight, Strickland dominated the Nigerian-born Kiwi to secure a unanimous decision victory. Defying all the odds, the 32-year-old American now reigns as the new king of the 185-pound division.

In an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda MMA, Adrian Yanez was asked for his thoughts on Israel Adesanya unexpectedly losing to Sean Strickland. Describing his bewilderment, Yanez replied:

"I was pretty baffled if I'm being honest... It was weird watching that fight in the sense that I'm really high on Israel Adesanya... It was weird seeing Sean just being able to walk him down."

He continued:

"The way I explained to my teammates what it looked like was a guy who's really good going up against a guy who's spazzy but knows how to throw punches... Sean Strickland's by no means a spaz. He was doing all the right things."

Catch Yanez's comments below (8:00):

Meanwhile, Adrian Yanez is booked against Jonathan Martinez at UFC Fight Night 230 on October 14. He will be looking to rebound from a first-round TKO loss to Rob Font at UFC 287.

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Robert Whittaker believes Israel Adesanya getting an immediate rematch against Sean Strickland is "silly"

Robert Whittaker recently weighed in on the idea of Israel Adesanya getting an immediate title rematch against Sean Strickland. The former middleweight champion doesn't believe 'The Last Stylebender' deserves a quick rubber match and thinks he should have to earn his way back to a title shot.

As mentioned, Adesanya had his title snatched away by Strickland last weekend at UFC 293. This was the Nigerian-born Kiwi's second title loss in three fights, and he has now dropped the championship twice in a 10-month period.

In an interview on The MMA Hour, Robert Whittaker explained why Israel Adesanya didn't deserve an immediate redemption opportunity. He said:

"Let’s take fair out of the equation... But I think it’s silly if Izzy gets an immediate rematch because this isn’t his first loss as champion... Technically, he didn’t defend the belt again... And you have to ask, is your idea just to keep letting him have rematches when he loses?"

Catch Whittaker's comments below (16:40):