Adesanya Slams Strickland, Masvidal Looses $100,000 And More

Israel Adesanya has slammed Sean Strickland after the latter suggested that the UFC does not want them to fight. 

Following Dricus du Plessis’ win over Robert Whittaker, there was a suggestion the former would face Adesanya.

After all, following his win, du Plessis and Adesanya had a face-off in the cage, as the anticipation over a fight grew.

However, with reports that the turnaround period was not enough for du Plessis to recover from a foot problem for a bout September 9th, 2023, the attention for Adesanya turned to Strickland. 

In response, Strickland demanded that he be paid his worth if the fans wanted to see him fight Adesanya.

Strickland On Adesanya

"We’re in talks. Like I said, it just comes down to just f*cking pay me. Let me ask you guys, do we really want to watch Dricus and Izzy fight? No. We don’t want to watch Dricus and Izzy fight. You want to watch me fight. Am I going to win? I don’t know, but I’m going to go in there and punch that motherf***ing Chinese right in the face," Strickland

After all, Strickland had just fought Abus Magomedov which again raised the issue of recovery time. Thereafter, Strickland questioned the UFC’s intentions over such short notices. 

Strickland’s Comments

"UFC history. Sean fight this good guy on a 2 day notice. ‘Sure’ Sean fight this guy we want to be the next big name in the top 5 if he beats you. ‘Sure’ Sean we might have you fly across the world on a 5 week notice to fight the Chinese Champion.
‘Sure," Strickland

That did not sit well with Adesanya, who had a few choice words to say about it all. 

"Lol ‘5 weeks.’ You been training since your last fight. We both fighting on short notice, you’re not doing nothing special, you dirty c**t."

In reality, Adesanya must find an opponent soon in order to remain active since his win over Alex Pereira to secure the UFC middleweight title. And there is no getting away from that.

Masvidal Loses $100,000

Meanwhile, Jorge Masvidal has claimed that Dustin Poirier’s loss to Justin Gaethje cost him $100,000. 

Poirier suffered a spectacular loss at UFC 291 as Gaethje landed a kick to the face to drop Poirier cold to the ground.

And in the process of doing so, Gaethje picked up the ‘BMF’ title. And it just so happened that Masvidal was part of the build up to see who would inherit the title that he had become so famous for.

But for all of Gaethje’s success, it appears that Masvidal was backing Poirier to come out on top. 

"Great fight. I felt Dustin was dictating the pace. He landed the better shots in the first round. It was all going Dustin’s way. And then the fight game, you know?Justin looked down, came up with a head kick, and caught my boy. It was a perfect kick.

"That was all she wrote. "Dustin looked in the best shape ever, and obviously he’s my teammate, so I wanted the world for him to win," Masvidal continued. "(I made a wager) that I probably shouldn’t have. I put $100,000 on DP, on Dustin Poirier. Kids, I’m sorry, you gotta go to public school now," Masvidal

Diaz Warned

Another MMA star who could also face concussive power is none other than Nate Diaz. 

The former has not fought since his win over Tony Ferguson at UFC 279 last year. He is, however, set to face Jake Paul on August 5th, 2023.

The bout will mark Diaz’s debut in boxing, while the ‘Problem Child’ seeks to bounce back from his loss to Diaz. Although Paul is the favorite, it appears that Diaz may have bitten off more than he can chew.

Paul’s former sparring partner, Anthony Taylor, has warned Diaz over the power that Paul possesses. Although Paul did not beat Tommy Fury, he did manage to put him on the canvas with a jab. 

And Taylor has warned Diaz to expect something similar.

"I hear Jake Paul is looking superhuman in this camp. He’s training with killers and there’s no question he’s going to send Nate Diaz into retirement.

"Respect to Diaz, he’s had a great career, but he’s not going to know what’s hit him when Jake detonates on his chin. I’ve tasted Jake’s power and his right hand hits like a baseball bat.

"Given Diaz’s age and how much smaller he is compared to Jake, I don’t see how Diaz can stand up to that kind of firepower. He’s got as much chance of winning as Francis Ngannou has of beating Tyson Fury.

"He’s got two hopes: Bob and none. If he makes it out of the third round I’d be surprised. Don’t blink," Taylor stated

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