Sean Strickland isn’t being given much of a chance heading into his first UFC middleweight title fight, but you can be sure he’s going into it with the worst intentions.
Strickland challenges champion Israel Adesanya this Saturday – Sunday locally – at UFC 293 from Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney. As of Monday, Adesanya remained a huge favorite at -650 betting odds at FanDuel, while Strickland returned as a +420 underdog. At those odds, Adesanya has an implied win probability of 86.7 percent.
It’s no secret Adesanya (24-2 MMA, 13-2 UFC) and Strickland (27-5 MMA, 14-5 UFC) will enter the cage with a fair amount of heat between them, which dates back to the UFC 276 press conference and has only increased since then. Strickland said he’s heard from plenty of fans on the street wanting him to beat Adesanya, and that’s motivation he’ll carry with him.
“I know a lot of you hate me, a lot of you like me,” Strickland said in an interview with Helen Yee posted Monday. “And, you know, I walk through the world. I walk through the f*cking world. And people come up to me all the time and say, ‘Sean, I hope you beat Izzy.’ The thing about that is most people don’t even like me. They just know Izzy f*cking sucks. So we’re gonna go try to murder that man for you guys, because Izzy f*cking sucks.”
In 19 UFC appearances, Strickland has four wins by knockout/TKO. Adesanya, on the other hand, has five wins by KO/TKO in 15 octagon appearances. One thing Adesanya doesn’t have in his career is a submission win, but he’d like to change that at UFC 293 and expects the opportunity to present itself.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 293.
