Israel Adesanya has reacted to his defeat by Sean Strickland who pulled off one of the biggest upsets in UFC history defeating the Nigerian to win the middleweight title in Sydney.
The 32-year-old American beat Adesanya at the UFC 293 on Sunday to dethrone the Nigerian, who is one of the sports’ finest.
The match ended in favour of Strickland 49-46.
“I hate losing, but I love living. What a life!” Adesanya tweeted on X.
In a video shared with family members seen, Adesanya showed his bruises, saying “It is not that bad. Nothing broken. We are great baby. I’m still thriving and it is all good. I am driving.
“(I am) hanging out with my family first then I will address the people. Right now, I got to put me first.”
Contrary to the expectations of some fans, Adesanya’s challenger combined constant forward movement with solid defence to outclass the Nigerian.
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The Nigerian was dropped late in Round 1 with a perfect right cross causing him to spin to the canvas.
Immediately, Strickland sought a knockout blow, however, the 34-year-old nicknamed, ‘The Last Stylebender,’ survived the disgrace.
Strickland outpointed him over the next four frames to pick up a unanimous decision victory.
Adesanya entered the match having defeated former champion Alex Pereira at UFC 287 back on April 8. Strickland came into the UFC 293 after defeating Abusupiyan Magomedov last July.
Strickland has recorded 32 fights, with 27 wins and 5 losses. The American has 11 wins and 2 losses by knock out. He has won 4 fights via submission.
The defeat of the Nigerian has also stirred reactions on X, formerly Twitter.
A fan @A_Tooshi_ said, “All this does not matter, Israel is coming back for his title.”
Also, @Dab4Youth tweeted, “You got rocked tonight, very unexpected but I am sure you know we still deserve that win, we take the loss on this one, so we can have a sweeter win. Omo Adesanya.”
Similarly, @SkywalkerMcFly_ tweeted, “Fix your defense. this is not where you can dodge out the way quickly all the time. fix your damn defence.”
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Another fan @BeekoJoe said, “We get it GOAT. Heal up. I love the respect you both showed for each other after the fight.
“Remember that quote after the last win? Something like ‘I just wish everyone could feel this one time in your life’. Well, it was Sean’s time to feel it. And he can inspire millions of young kids. I can imagine it absolutely sucks, but the world may have needed Sean tonight.”
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