Sean Strickland defeated Israel Adesanya to become the middleweight champion at UFC 293. Following that, Dana White mentioned that a rematch would be in order between ‘Tarzan’ and ‘The Last Stylebender’. Meanwhile, the UFC president recently took the time to address that statement during the press conference of the Contender Series.
Nobody expected what they witnessed in Sydney last weekend. Going into the fight as an underdog, Sean Strickland dominated ‘Izzy’ and had answers for everything the former champion had to offer. However, what transpired later was the talk of the town. Dana White immediately called for a rematch, which he clarified recently. Let’s see what the 54-year-old had to say.
Dana White clears the air surrounding the rematch
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The UFC president recently addressed the claims he made about the rematch following UFC 293. White stated that he had read about the claims made against him, about the rematch between Israel Adesanya and Sean Strickland. He did not take a liking to it. He said, “I saw the stupid f**ing sh*t that was written by stupid f**ing websites.”
Dana White on a Strickland/Adesanya rematch.#UFC pic.twitter.com/JeVqV3iGFL
— Jed I. Goodman © (@jedigoodman) September 13, 2023
Furthermore, the statement he made about the rematch was something he came up with since people were asking what’s next. Hence, it was not the definitive route that he was considering for the middleweight title. “Never once did I say, ‘Yes, we’re gonna f***ing do this rematch.’ I said, ‘Yeah, rematch sounds, you know, we’ll see what happens,'” said Dana White. However, he still thinks that a rematch could be in order.
The UFC president is not opposed to a rematch
Dana White mentioned that he’s aware of the fact that there are still many fighters who could get a chance to fight for the title. He is even thinking about considering those options as well. He further stated, “There’s obviously lots of options out there and we’ll see what happens.”
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However, Dana White completely ignored Dricus du Plessis and his title shot. Given how big of a star Israel Adesanya is for the promotion, the UFC president is not opposed to the idea of giving him a rematch for the title. That is still a possibility. “Yes, I’m still not opposed to an Israel rematch. We’ll see how it goes,” said the 54-year-old.
READ MORE: Sean Strickland’s Girlfriend Exposed: Teammate Claims She’s Turned Him Into a “Different Animal”
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It remains to be seen what route Dana White will take for the middleweight title next. There are some people who think Israel Adesanya deserves to get a rematch, while others believe that the division should move on from ‘The Last Stylebender’. It has also put a question mark on Dricus du Plessis’ title shot aspirations. What do you think? Should ‘Izzy’ get another shot at the title? Drop your comments below.
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