"F- that guy and f- Izzy" - Sean Strickland reveals who prompted him to go after Israel Adesanya at UFC 276 press conference

UFC middleweight Sean Strickland recently harked back to his fiery back-and-forth with Israel Adesanya at the UFC 276 press conference. He offered fans some insight into what prompted the entertaining exchange.

The brash and outspoken Strickland took shots at the middleweight kingpin at the UFC 276 press conference, even though the duo is not scheduled to lock horns anytime soon.

Check out footage of their heated exchange below:

While in conversation with Helen Yee, Strickland declared that he was compelled to come to Jared Cannonier's defense after 'The Killa Gorilla' was being mocked by a member of the audience.

Strickland further admitted that Adesanya's reaction to Cannonier getting heckled by the fan was what drove him to go after the Kiwi. Here's what he had to say about the same:

"There is this fat limp d**k f***ing guy in the audience and [Jared Cannonier] was a nice guy. He started talking s**t to Cannonier and [Israel Adesanya] sitting there f***ing giggling like a little girl.

So really, what sparked it was that f***ing limp d**k fat f**k making fun of Cannonier and I was like, you know what? I got to defend Cannonier because f**k that guy and f**k Izzy. So you could thank the the fat limp d**k guy with the Lakers jersey that made me want to make fun of Izzy."

Catch Sean Strickland's full interaction with Helen Yee below:

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Sean Strickland thinks Israel Adesanya will outperform Alex Pereira

During the same interview with Helen Yee, Sean Strickland revealed how Israel Adesanya would overcome the challenge presented by his former kickboxing foe, Alex Pereira.

He recalled his own performance against 'Poatan' at UFC 276, admitting that he was a bit too aggressive with his approach, which resulted in him getting caught with a vicious left hook and finished in the first round.

However, he argued that Israel Adesanya wouldn't make the same mistake. Per 'Tarzan', the Kiwi will take advantage of his reach and linger on the outside, picking Pereira apart to win the fight on the judges' scorecards:

"Izzy is going to be a very non-ego man. He's going to prounce around. He's going to fight at range. He's going to out-point him [Alex Pereira]. He's not going to fight Alex, he's going to outpoint him and he's going to win."