Israel Adesanya finally discussed his loss of the UFC middleweight crown.
After not addressing questions from the media after his decision loss to Sean Strickland and leaving the UFC 293 post-fight press conference, Adesanya finally shared his thoughts on his YouTube channel.
Adesanya (24-3 MMA, 13-3 UFC), who was beaten in shocking fashion by Strickland (28-5 MMA, 15-5 UFC) earlier this month in the main event of UFC 293 in Australia, said he just wasn’t himself that night.
“Like a bad dream,” Adesanya said when asked about how he felt. “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.
“Feeling it and watching it were completely different. I called Eugene (Bareman) right after and we talked and the same thing. We’re quietly confident.”
On top of not feeling himself, Adesanya won’t shy away from acknowledging that Strickland and his coaches had a great game plan, and they executed it perfectly.
“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.”
As far as what’s next for Adesanya, the 35-year-old has no plans of retiring. In fact, he wants his belt back, but didn’t reveal when he’d like to return.
“We’ll see,” Adesanya said on a return. “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.”
