The UFC middleweight champion, Sean Strickland, pulled out one of the most mind-blowing upsets in UFC history. Given the fact that most people believed Israel Adesanya would walk through Strickland, his win against one of the middleweight legends definitely put the latter on a different sort of pedestal.

On the other hand, the former middleweight champion, Israel Adesanya had trouble with processing the loss too well. Since he had been one of the more active champions that the UFC had, he decided to take some time off from the sport, not opting for an immediate rematch. He addressed the loss in one of his YouTube videos. However, some fans believed that he was downplaying his loss. Here is what Adesanya had to say in his response.

The Last Stylebender responds to a fan’s comment

On the YouTube video, a person called out Izzy’s lack of accountability in the fight in the comments, writing, “Mistake against Strickland was aiming at the right side constantly. Strickland only had to block one side of the body, but if you replay the fight 80% of the strikes hitting Sean’s left landed clean.”

However Izzy was quick to respond, posting a story on his Instagram with the caption writing, “Practice patience… I’ll explain one day,” implying that he will explain the reason for his loss against Sean Strickland, one day

In the YouTube video, The Last Stylebender was pretty persistent in putting out the narrative that he never once lost hope in his fight against Sean Strickland. And given that it’s Israel Adesanya saying it, we can’t really doubt his statements, especially after he cleared the division before. Here is what Adesanya told Teddy Atlas.

Israel Adesanya addresses the loss against Sean Strickland

Israel Adesanya on his channel, FREESTYLEBENDER, hosted Teddy Atlas, where the two also talked about his loss against the current middleweight champion. He looked back at the fight and told Atlas what was going through his mind at the time. Izzy recalled a point in the fight where he realized that Sean Strickland was actually quite difficult to figure out. Adesanya stated, “As I looked down, I saw droplets of blood and I was like, okay, Damn he got me with that jab because his jab was different. It was something that It was like it was like a hammer fist.”

The former champion went on to explain that Sean Strickland’s jabs were landing with the lower ends of his knuckles because of the Philly stance he used. However, he stated, “It was catching me because offbeat timing. I just wasn’t there. Unexpected. It was still kind of like what you said I didn’t I never lost hope.”

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Given that Israel Adesanya has flirted with the idea of returning sooner than anticipated, when do you expect him to return? Let us know in the comments section below.

Also Read: Sean Strickland’s Coach Reveals Aftermath of Ugly UFC 296 Brawl With Dricus Du Plessis, Explains Champ’s Uncharacteristic Outburst