After a disappointing performance that cost him the middleweight title at UFC 293, Israel Adesanya was left with more questions than answers, struggling to establish any rhythm against Sean Strickland, who dominated the fight, leaving critics and UFC president Dana White questioning Adesanya’s lacklustre performance.
Israel Adesanya suffered a surprising defeat in the UFC 293 main event, failing to retain the middleweight title. The bout left him with more questions than answers, as he had been largely underperforming. The formerly dominant champion found it difficult to find any rhythm against his opponent, Sean Strickland, who managed to maintain an impressive pace throughout the fight. Strickland continuously peppered Adesanya with punches for five rounds with incredible defense. Strickland’s early knockdown in the fight clearly set the tone for his victory, with Adesanya unable to recover before losing the unanimous decision.
Even Dana White, the UFC president, found the fight and Adesanya’s lack of usual flair confounding. White had anticipated a more significant main event but had not predicted the unexpected twist of events. He found Israel’s performance lacking, characterized by a marked slowness and lack of the usual intensity. According to UFC statistics, Strickland outperformed Adesanya, landing 137 strikes to Adesanya’s 94, and having the only knockdown of the fight.
White commented on Adesanya’s performance during the UFC 293 post-fight press conference, expressing confusion at fighter’s lack of vigor. He stated that Adesanya seemed as if he was unable to react, being notably rigid and slow on his feet. Despite needing a knockout to win the match in the fifth round, there was no sense of eagerness from Adesanya. The UFC president was eager to discover what had affected Adesanya’s performance that night.
The unfortunate loss came just five months after Adesanya managed to defeat Alex Pereira, his greatest rival to date. Adesanya was able to finally seek revenge against Pereira, before moving his focus to Strickland. Adesanya only offered Strickland a simple congratulations post-fight, choosing not to comment on his performance. Despite losing 49-46 across all scorecards, White sees a rematch as the most likely outcome for the middleweight division. This idea may not please contenders like Dricus Du Plessis or Khamzat Chimaev, but White insists on giving Israel Adesanya another chance at Strickland following the surprising upset at UFC 293.