Why is Israel Adesanya Fighting Sean Strickland?

Israel Mobolaji Temitayo Odunayo Oluwafemi Owolabi Adesanya is a Nigerian fighter. Nicknamed The Last Stylebender, he fights in the Middleweight division at Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He is number 5 in the pound for pound rankings for men in the UFC.

Born in Lagos, Nigeria on July 22, 1989, Israel Adesanya started training MMA after having a career with kickboxing and boxing. He defeated Rob Wilkinson on his UFC debut at UFC 221: Romero vs Rockhold on February 10, 2018. He is the former 2-time UFC Middleweight Champion and 1-time interim UFC Middleweight Champion. He was also honored with Performance of the Night 6-times and Fight of the Night 2-times while being at UFC. He is regarded as one of the best MMA fighters in the Middleweight division of the UFC. He has impressed fans with his fighting skills and overcoming his opponents.

Adesanya has 27 fights in his MMA career till now. He won 24 fights (16 by knockout and 8 by decision) and lost 3 fights (1 by knockout and 2 by decision). The Last Stylebender defended his title against Sean “Tarzan” Strickland at UFC 293: Adesanya vs Strickland on September 10, 2023. He lost the bout via unanimous decision and subsequently lost his championship to the current Middleweight Champion Sean Strickland.

Reason Behind Adesanya-Strickland Fight

Israel Adesanya and Sean Strickland will clash for the UFC Middleweight title. Initially that was not the case. The Champ was supposed to face Dricus Du Plessis. However, Du Plessis got injured. Consequently, The Last Stylebender recommended Strickland’s name to the UFC management.

According to Adesanya, it is because of him that Sean Strickland is getting a title opportunity. The champion believes that he had already proved himself against some of the best UFC fighters, even defeating some of them twice. Now, he has turned his attention towards Sean Strickland and wants to test himself against him. He stated that the UFC management was not very interested in this idea as Strickland might embarrass the company but was eventually convinced by him.

Another reason Adesanya pointed out was regarding some of the things Strickland has said about him. He considers Strickland to be like the idiots that he had to tolerate growing up. He pointed out that a victory over Strickland would be very satisfying for him.

Apparently, it seems that Strickland’s comments on Adesanya have proved to be too offensive for the champion and he now wants to teach Sean Strickland a lesson inside the Octagon.

Best Of Israel Adesanya Before the UFC

The Last Stylebender used to compete in New Zealand, China and Australia before coming to the UFC. Here’s a summary of some of the best fights he had back then.

Israel Adesanya vs Song Kenan

These two locked horns at The Legend of Emei 3 on August 8, 2015 in Shahe, China. This was a catchweight fight between the two opponents. Adesanya beat Kenan via KO/TKO by a head kick in 1 minute 59 seconds of Round 1.

Israel Adesanya vs Melvin Guillard

The Last Stylebender clashed with The Young Assassin at AFC 20 on July 28, 2017 in Melbourne, Australia. It was a fight for the AFC Middleweight Championship. Adesanya defeated Guillard via KO/TKO by punches in 4 minutes 49 seconds of Round 1, thereby becoming the AFC Middleweight Champion.

Israel Adesanya vs Stuart Dare

Israel Adesanya and Stuart Dare faced each other at Hex Fight Series 12 on November 24, 2017 in Melbourne, Australia. This was a fight for the Hex Fight Series Middleweight Championship. The Last Stylebender ended Tumbleweed via KO/TKO with a head kick at 4 minutes 43 seconds of Round 1. Resultantly, Adesanya became the Hex Fight Series Middleweight Champion.