Sean Strickland claims Israel Adesanya could have 'mental' problems after intense dog-related conversation post-fight

Sean Strickland is still on his victory lap since dethroning Israel Adesanya as UFC middleweight champion. The pair's bout headlined UFC 293 and served as one of the greatest-ever MMA upsets, as Strickland entered the octagon as the biggest betting underdog in middleweight history.

Ahead of the fight, Strickland repeatedly took aim at Adesanya with relentless trash talk. While he initially taunted 'The Last Stylebender' for taking part in a commercial where he claimed to be Chinese, he later came upon an old video that showed Israel Adesanya, his now deceased dog's genitals.

The resurfaced video sparked outrage in the MMA community and served as fuel for Sean Strickland's subsequent trash talk against Israel Adesanya, which appears to have affected him greatly. After losing to 'Tarzan,' Adesanya approached him in the cage and expressed his indignation.

He pleaded with Strickland not to disrespect his family, referring to his dog, which had become the center of controversy. Now, on his Man Dance Podcast, the newly minted middleweight champion shared his thoughts on the interaction:

"He looks at me, and he's like, 'I would never make fun of your family, and I'm like, 'Izzy, I don't know your family, bro.' I don't know if you have siblings. I don't know f**k about you. This is after the fight. He starts pointing at his neck, and he's like my f**king dog man, my dog.'"

This led to Strickland making a startling conclusion about Adesanya:

"So, bottom line, Izzy, dude, I think the guy needs some help... Izzy, it's starting not to be funny anymore, cause as I'm starting to understand Izzy and his love of his dog, peanut butter and all, I'm starting to realize that, like, he could have some form of mental ret**dation, like there's something f**king wrong with this guy."

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What did Sean Strickland do to his championship belt?

Shortly after beating Israel Adesanya for the middleweight strap, Sean Strickland revealed to the world via an Instagram post that he had already damaged his belt. Specifically, one of the miniature plates flanking the main central piece of the title had gotten loose.

However, Strickland had a quick fix for the issue, using a roll of duct tape to fasten the plate back to the leather strap of the belt. And in typical Strickland fashion, he claimed to have improved the title.