SYDNEY – Sean Strickland’s feelings toward Israel Adesanya are only getting more adversarial as the hours draw closer to their UFC 293 title fight.
Strickland (27-5 MMA, 14-5 UFC) is set to challenge Adesanya (24-2 MMA, 13-2 UFC) for the middleweight title in the main event of Saturday’s pay-per-view headliner at Qudos Bank Arena, which follows prelims on ESPNews/ESPN+ and early prelims on ESPN+.
The fight has building for more than a year since the pair engaged in a heated back-and-forth at the UFC 276 pre-fight press conference in July 2022, and Strickland hasn’t missed a single opportunity to offer harsh words about the champion. That hasn’t changed as fight week intensifies.
“Here’s the thing about Izzy: Izzy is the f*cking definition of spineless,” Strickland told MMA Junkie on Tuesday. “That man will jump on all ball, any bandwagon that does him good. Look at me. (I’m) a man of the people.”
Adesanya hasn’t been hesitant to share his own strong words about Strickland, either. He told The MacLife on Monday that he thinks the challenger is “insecure” and referenced his antics as cringy – comments which Strickland did not take lightly.
“The guy that f*cking paints his nails and has closet homosexual thoughts is calling me f*cking cringe?” Strickland said. “I don’t cringe. I don’t say anything cringe. I say things that are f*cking true. Izzy is a f*cking prostitute. Izzy would sell his f*cking ass for the dollar amount. If it was 1942, Izzy would be f*cking goose-stepping down the street. If we’ve learned anything about Izzy: That man has no spine. He has no backbone. One of the best kickboxers in the world. I admit that. But as far as being a man, I don’t know what the f*ck happened to you.”
The talk between Strickland, 32, and Adesanya, 34, is only expected to pick up as fight night nears, and they will get face-to-face for the first time on fight week at Thursday’s pre-fight press conference. It will all conclude with them stepping into the octagon, though, and at that point it will be on the fighters to deliver.
Strickland admits he’s been working hard on his grappling ahead of UFC 293, as the would seemingly be his best path to victory. He said he can’t honestly speak to what his game plan will play out when he enters the cage, though, but he’s keen to find out with everyone else watching.
“We’ve been grappling our f*cking asses off,” Strickland said. “We’ve been doing all the work. But when I get in there, sometimes the retard takes over. Sometimes the CTE takes over. I’m like, ‘We’ll be f*cking kickboxing.’ So we’ll find out.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 293.
