Israel adesanya in defeat to Sean Strickland No. UFC 293 (Photo: Instagram/UFC)
Israel adesanya publicly admitted that Dana White tried to convince him not to face Sean Strickland No. UFC 293, held in September 2023. The event, which marked the organization's return to Australia after six years, had as its main attraction the defeat for the middleweight belt (up to 83,9 kg) and the last time the Nigerian entered the organization as champion.
“I felt the same way. I was like, ‘I need to fight in Sydney, I need to fight in Sydney. It’s been so long since I’ve fought on this side of the world.’ Then Dana [White] turned to me and said, ‘Listen, kid, you’ve got enough money, relax a little bit.’ I said, ‘No,’ I was stubborn. But looking back, maybe Dana was right. Maybe I should have taken a break. On the other hand, I love these stories – that’s how things are supposed to happen. Adversity is a privilege,” he said in a chat with Sean O'Malley on your YouTube channel.
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Adesanya ignored the recommendation. His motivation was clear: the opportunity to fight in front of the Australian public, where he had not competed since 2017. The result was in favor of Strickland, who dominated the fight for five rounds, won the belt by unanimous decision (49–46) and exposed previously unseen weaknesses in the then champion.
Official data proves Strickland's supremacy: 137 significant strikes landed (53% accuracy) against Adesanya's 94 (35%). The challenger's impenetrable defense neutralized the champion's characteristic attacks, who appeared to be 'slow and unresponsive', according to Dana White's assessment after the event.
The fall opened a negative cycle in the fighter's career. After the setback to Strickland, Adesanya suffered consecutive losses to Dricus Du Plessis (UFC 290) to Nassourdine Imavov (UFC 303), in the first three-game losing streak of his career.
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