"This n**ga just dropped me" - Israel Adesanya shares honest shock he felt after Sean Strickland knocked him down at UFC 293

Israel Adesanya recently shared his thoughts about the unexpected loss he suffered against Sean Strickland at UFC 293 several weeks ago.

Prior to fight night, 'The Last Stylebender' was an enormous -650 favorite and many predicted that Adesanya would be able to toy with Strickland. With less than a minute left in round one, it was actually 'Tarzan' who almost knocked out Israel Adesanya, as Strickland landed a huge right hand.

Sean Strickland became the first man to drop 'The Last Stylebender' in the UFC, and the promotion's main color commentator, Jon Anik, even stated that he almost vomited when Adesanya hit the canvas.

Israel Adesanya recently shared his reaction to getting dropped by Strickland in the first round, and he said this:

"My [reaction] was like, this n**ga just dropped me. And I started laughing a little bit, and at one point I looked at Marc Goddard - you can find the clip and frame it - I was just like, 'I'm okay'. Right afterwards, we disengage, and I feel like I'm clear, I'm lucid, back on the attack." [5:17-5:39]

Adesanya then shared what his coach, Eugene Bareman, told him following Round One:

"I tried to use a lead hook-counter, but [Strickland] just, BAP BAP, the rhythm... Eugene just pretty much said I was out of position. But when I look back at it now, his one-two was off beat, and it just got me in between [beats]." [5:45-6:05]

Watch the video below:

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Israel Adesanya says the change of opponents at UFC 293 could have messed with his head

Israel Adesanya lost to Sean Strickland in the main event of UFC 293 several weeks ago, as 'Tarzan' dominated his opponent on the way to a unanimous decision win.

Strickland, however, wasn't the first choice of opponent, as it once appeared certain that surging contender Dricus du Plessis would face Adesanya.

Du Plessis and 'The Last Stylebender' share bad-blood owing to comments made by 'Stillknocks' about taking the UFC belt back to Africa.

Following the South African's TKO win over Robert Whittaker at UFC 290, the pair shared a heated face-off, and the fight appeared all but confirmed.

Later, Du Plessis turned down the fight due to injury, and Sean Strickland was chosen to face Adesanya.

'The Last Stylebender' recently revealed that the change of opponent could have messed with his mentality in the very same video uploaded to his YouTube channel:

"I think it was AB. AB said as soon as the opponent switched, he said like almost instantly, it was like, with Dricus I went like 'I wanna f*cking kill this dude.' I had this thing about me. So when the opponent switched, he just noticed, and I was like okay, I'm gonna whoop this dude." [9:17-9:37]