Israel Adesanya was left showing off his fresh facial injuries after his decision loss at the hands of Sean Strickland at UFC 293 in Sydney, Australia.
Adesanya entered the fight as a huge favourite and was expected to breeze his way past Strickland, but the American fighter managed to pull off a monumental upset away from home, winning a unanimous decision against the odds. It all went wrong for Adesanya early on, as he was heavily dropped to the canvas towards the end of the first round and it looked as if the fight could have been stopped at any moment. Although he survived Strickland’s initial onslaught, Adesanya never gained a foothold into the fight, winning only 1 round on each of the judges scorecards, losing a 49-46 decision.
On his Twitter later on, Adesanya posted a video showing his war wounds which included a swollen eye and a cut lip. He went onto say “Not that bad, a little touched up. Still thriving, I hate losing but I love living. Hanging out with the family first and then I’ll address the people, but for right now I’ve got to put me first.”
Israel Adesanya Shows Injuries Post UFC 293
At the post fight press conference, UFC President Dana White confirmed his interest in booking the now inevitable rematch between the two once Adesanya had healed up, mentally and physically from the defeat. “I think you do the rematch absolutely, I mean the rematch is interesting.”
Strickland also welcomed the rematch saying, “Well if I’ve learned anything about the UFC it’s that when do you have a choice of who you f***ing fight, the UFC never comes up to me and says hey Sean, would you like to fight this guy, or would you like to fight this guy. No the UFC says your fighting this guy, and you fight this guy and at the end of the day I’m the champion so line them up and I” knock them down.”
UFC Post Fight Press Conference
How do you think the rematch would go, do you think Adesanya can reclaim his Middleweight crown for the third time? Or will Strickland put the rivalry to bed and open a new era for the 185 pound division? Let us know your thoughts below.
Featured image credits to Israel Adesanya Instagram
