“He’s an Idiot!”: Israel Adesanya Reveals How He Convinced Dana White and Co. To Give Sean Strickland a Title Shot Despite Them Believing He Would Embarrass the Company if He Wins

Israel “the last airbender” Adesanya is all set to face Sean Strickland in a fight. Both the fighters are now set to clash on September 9. However, the path of the matchup was marked by a hint of uncertainty. The original contender, Dricus Du Plessis, had to withdraw from the initial fight due to injuries that forced UFC to embark on a search for the replacement of Adesanya.

As the UFC searched frantically to find an able replacement, Strickland stepped up to take on Adesanya. But he faced heavy resistance from UFC, who seemed determined not to let this match happen. However, it has now emerged that ‘The Last Airbender had a major role to play in this bout coming to fruition. So what were the factors that convinced the UFC to have this match? Let’s find out.

Israel Adesanya and his role in securing the Strickland fight

Israel Adesanya was recently quizzed by the media on his efforts to get this fight sanctioned. Israel responded to the media questions by stating that “A lot [of convincing], a lot. Like I said, he’s an idiot, and the UFC doesn’t want him embarrassing the company. That’s all I’ll say about that, but he should thank me. He should really thank me for actually making him get the fight. I pushed for it and I’m glad the UFC trusted me and listened to me.”

Eugene Bareman, longtime head coach and City Kickboxing founder, was asked whether the team had any discussion before asking for Sean Strickland. Eugene responded, “We got to this stage there’s no opponent locked in but it doesn’t matter just put a name on a bit of paper and put it in front of us and we’ll be there on a date so we right from the very start we put all our concentration and effort into the date a little bit less focused on the opponent in front of us we signed a dotted line and we show up that’s what we’ve done for our entire UFC career”

Read more: Where is Israel Adesanya From, and What is His Ethnicity?

Based on what Bareman and Adesanya said in the video above, there is little doubt that Adesanya was looking for a fight against Du Plessis, but now that he has Strickland, they aren’t too unhappy about it. And it is not only Adesanya who has been talking about Strickland. Tarzan has been vocal too. This also brings us to the question of why Du Plessis did not make this fight.

Why did Dricus Du Plessis walk away from a fight with Israel Adesanya?

Adesanya was expected to fight Du Plessis at UFC 293 in September to defend his title, but the fight couldn’t go ahead as planned due to a leg injury sustained by Du Plessis.

The withdrawal by Dricus Du Plessis from the fight against Israel Adesanya disrupted the intended plan and led to Sean Strickland becoming the title contender. Despite initial resistance from the UFC, Adesanya convinced the UFC to make this match happen because of his determination and efforts. What do you think will be the outcome of the Adesanya vs. Strickland match, given the circumstances surrounding their fight?

Watch this story: UFC World Furious After Israel Adesanya’s Coach Reveals New Condition for Dricus Du Plessis to Get a Title Shot