Israel Adesanya’s lead coach Eugene Bareman had a strange request on the back of his star pupils’ loss to Sean Strickland at UFC293.
It’s safe to say that Australia is the home of big title upsets, after Holly Holms’s shock win at UFC 193. Last night saw another, Sean Strickland beat Israel Adesanya on points to become the new Middleweight Champion of the world. Many in the MMA world thought Israel would have an easy night at the office against Strickland. But the outspoken American pulled off the shock of the year so far to win the belt.
The fight was a clinic in fundamentals from Strickland, he used his jab and cross effectively and showed excellent cage control. Adesanya struggled with his rhythm and creativity throughout the fight and never really looked in control. Since the fight Eugene Bareman, head coach at City Kickboxing, has shed some light on the fight and made a strange request for a rematch.
Israel Adesanya & Sean Strickland to Rematch?
The narrative post-fight has been talk of a rematch, Dana White, Sean Strickland and Israel Adesanya have all commented on the topic. However, the most curious comments came from Adesanyas coach:
“I think Sean’s a great fighter, and I never once thought that Sean wasn’t capable of beating Israel. [but] It was an alternate kind of universe where Israel performed poorly, where Sean could win, and I’m sitting in that universe right now.”
When asked when he would want the rematch Bareman said “I asked Mick if we could have the rematch next weekend. Whether he grants that I’m not sure, but I’m just very confident that we can change the outcome of this fight with very minor adjustments”
Quotes courtesy of yahoo sports
What do you think about an immediate rematch for Israel Adesanya? What was your reaction to the outcome of the fight? let us know in the comments
Featured image credits to Embed from Getty Images
