The delay in announcing a middleweight title fight was due to the fact that the organization’s management was reluctant to give a title shot to Sean Strickland until the last minute, according to current UFC champion, Israel Adesanya.
“Sean should thank me for making this fight happen because without me he wouldn’t have gotten it,” the Nigerian told It’s Time For Sports. “I insisted that he get this fight because he was the next logical guy among the contenders.”
“I’ve beaten everybody in the top five, some twice, and I insisted he get the fight. He’s an idiot, so he just needs to behave himself, go out there and fight. Like I said, he’s an idiot and the UFC didn’t want him to embarrass the organization. So he should really thank me because he only got his chance because I insisted on it. There was a lot going on behind the scenes and I’m glad the UFC listened to me and went along with it”
The middleweight title fight between Israel Adesanya and Sean Strickland will be the main event of UFC 293, which takes place on September 9 in Sydney. The American was awarded the title fight, replacing the division’s number one contender, Dricus Du Plessis, who knocked out Robert Whittaker in a challenger’s bout but refused to return to the octagon after two months, citing injury.
Source: https://fighttime.ru/news/item/32386-israel-adesanya-v-ufc-boyatsya-chto-striklend-ikh-opozorit.html?rand=19907
