Israel Adesanya addresses 'bad dream' loss to Sean Strickland for the first time (VIDEO)
By Amy Kaplan
After former middleweight champion Israel Adesanya lost to Sean Strickland he appeared at the post-fight press conference to basically say he wouldn't be speaking or answering questions. Instead, he left his coach Eugene Bareman to take the microphone.
Now, weeks removed from losing his title a seecond time, he's finally addressing the loss in earnest.
“Like a bad dream,” Adesanya said on his official YouTube channel. “One of those where you, not even a nightmare. A nightmare is like, ‘Oh sh*t. F*ck.’ A nightmare, you’re scared. I was just like, you try to hit the guy, and it just felt like noodle arms. Like, ‘What the f*ck.’ It just felt like a bad dream."
Israel Adesanya says he wants to fight Sean Strickland again 'just for fun'
Adesanya praised both Strickland and his coach for their gameplan.
“I just wasn’t able to get my rhythm because of his pressure,” Adesanya said. “He was right there constantly. Whenever I was setting him up, because he was right there, his coach would help him out, and I would be like, ‘Fuck.’ Good game plan from them, but also for me, I wasn’t able to adjust on the fly. … It was his night. I was his night and yeah, he got it done. I made another dream come true.”
Many had wondered what might be next for Adesanya. Would he fight Strickland again, might he move to another division or even retire? He addressed the next move as well.
“We’ll see,” Adesanya said on his future. “No, the belt has never mattered to me. How many times have I said it’s just a fancy tiara? The belt is just a nice accessory. I already got belts. I got many belts. I’m going to do it again just for fun, just for fun.”
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