Israel Adesanya has labelled Sean Strickland as an opponent he’d still like to ‘whoop’ at middleweight.
But first, Adesanya (23-1 MMA) will be getting in the Octagon with Alex Pereira (6-1 MMA) this coming Saturday, November 12th at UFC 281 which takes place at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The middleweight main event will decide if Adesanya remains the champion or if Pereira can put a halt to his previous 5 title defences.
Israel Adesanya, 33, has won 3 consecutive fights in a row, against Jared Cannonier (15-6 MMA), Robert Whittaker (24-6 MMA) and Marvin Vettori (18-6 MMA).
Pereira, 35, is sporting 6 wins in a row, 3 of which were won after he signed with the UFC.
The much anticipated bout between the two former kickboxers, where ‘Poatan’ was the victor both times, is sure to be a fan favorite this weekend.
In the lead-up to UFC 281, Israel Adesanya sat down with Luke Thomas of ‘Morning Kombat’ and when asked about who he would like to fight after Pereira, he said (h/t Sportskeeda):
“I don’t want to look. I have a few guys like Sean (Strickland). Sean, I want to whoop that guy just for fun. I want to destroy him, just for fun. For my own benefit.”
Continuing ‘The Last Stylebender’ stated:
“I respect him (Strickland) though. I respect the fact that he speaks his mind. I do as well. I respect the fact that he openly and stupidly speaks his mind. I can respect that.”
There is somewhat of a history between the two fighters, as it was Strickland (25-4 MMA) who got into it with Adesanya at a pre-fight press conference at UFC 276. It was ‘Tarzan’ who made fun of Adesanya for his prior kickboxing losses to Pereira.
Be that as it may, Strickland has made his prediction for UFC 281 and speaking on Brendan Schaub‘s ‘Food Truck Diaries, he said:
“I got Izzy. Izzy’s gonna dance around, f**king run around, fight like a b*tch. He’s not go do what I do, he’s not gonna stand in front of him….I think Izzy’s gonna win, Izzy has a very strange body type, he’s very hard to fight.”
What is your prediction for Israel Adesanya vs Alex Pereira this weekend? Would you like to see Adesanya get in the cage with Strickland next?
Share your thoughts in the comment section PENN Nation!