Sean Strickland suggests that Israel Adesanya is overrated.
Strickland (29-6 MMA, 16-6 UFC) defeated Adesanya at UFC 293 to win the middleweight title in a major upset victory before losing the belt at UFC 297 to Dorricus du Plessis, who submitted Adesanya in the main event of UFC 305 on Saturday in Perth.
Adesanya (24-4 MMA, 13-4 UFC) is stepping into uncharted territory after losing three of his past four fights, and Strickland said he’s never been in love with “The Stylebender,” citing his 2018 bout with Kelvin Gastelum as one sign of that.
“My opinion is unpopular. You guys aren’t going to like it. I don’t think Izzy is that good,” Strickland said on the “Verse Us with Eric Nicksick” podcast. “So when he fights Kelvin, I think Kelvin is awful, but people are like, ‘Oh, this is Izzy.’ Look, I’ve sparred with Kelvin a bunch of times.
“I said, ‘You had a close fight with Kelvin. You’re not that good.’ I mean, you’re not that good. You fought that shitty (Paulo) Costa and he was so scared of you. You blew on him and he fell asleep. Izzy’s not that good.”
Adesanya’s last 12 fights have been title fights, but Michael Bisping and others believe his championship days are over. Strickland bounced back from his loss to du Plessis to beat Costa at UFC 302. He lost a close decision to du Plessis but hopes to get the chance to face him again next.
For more details on the card, check out MMA Junkie’s UFC 305 event hub.
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