"I don't think he understands"- Israel Adesanya raises jet lag concerns for Sean Strickland ahead of UFC 293

Israel Adesanya is set to defend his middleweight title against Sean Strickland at UFC 293. The bout will mark the first title defense of 'The Last Stylebender's second run as middleweight champion. It will also mark 'Tarzan's first time fighting outside of the United States in five years. The No.5-ranked pound-for-pound fighter voiced concerns about his opponent's ability to fight with jet lag.

Speaking to TheMacLife, Adesanya stated:

"You know he's actually traveling the world for the first time? It's his first time getting a passport because of me. I've been traveling the world. I've been fighting on jet lag for years. I know how this works. I don't think he understands. 'Fight Island', 8 AM, I had to fight. 3 AM, vroom, you remember, the whole f**king F1's. I'm like, we got to fight in five hours, why are you driving cars at the hotel?"

'The Last Stylebender' continued:

"So, I'm built for this. I'm used to this. I've been ready for this. He's going to come here, I think the fight is around 2:30, by around 8 AM he'll want to sleep. He won't be able to sleep so he'll - because he'll be up all night thinking about the fight - and then when it comes fight time, I'll help him go to sleep."

Check out Israel Adesanya's comments on Sean Strickland below (starting at the 4:49 mark):

Strickland has not fought overseas since 2018 when he fought in Brazil and Canada. While he has also fought in Germany, The Phillippines, and South Africa, however, those bouts took place in 2014, 2013, and 2010, respectively. UFC 293 will mark his furthest bout from the United States.

Israel Adesanya claims Sean Strickland is insecure

Israel Adesanya will look to defend his middleweight title for the sixth time, and first of his second run as champion, when he faces Sean Strickland at UFC 293. Speaking to TheMacLife, 'The Last Stylebender' labeled his opponent as insecure, stating:

"Sean's very insecure. I'll tell you. You only have one impression, the first impression. If you want to be a tough guy, make it the first impression. The first impression, he was a b**ch. I didn't even mean to make him a b**ch."

"I was just like, 'hey, what's up buddy, how are you doing?' He was like, 'oh, don't do me like you did your boy [Paulo] Costa' and then we get on stage and 'man, I'll come there right now and you get my number'. I was like, 'bro, five minutes ago, backstage, where was this energy?' That's why when he tries to do all that s**t to me now, I'm just like, it doesn't work."

Check out Israel Adesanya's comments on Sean Strickland below (starting at the 2:43 mark):

Adesanya is referring to his interaction with Strickland when both competed at UFC 276 during last year's International Fight Week. 'The Last Stylebender' defeated Jared Cannonier via unanimous decision to defend his middleweight title for the fifth time. Meanwhile, 'Tarzan' was defeated by Alex Pereira via first-round knockout.