This was announced by UFC president, Dana White, at a press conference after the event.
“Israel looked like he was in slow motion today,” the organization’s leader stated. “He looked very intense and very slow today. Only Yisrael knows what happened. I’m curious to see what he will say at the press conference.”
“There are a million things that can go wrong. Sometimes you just wake up and you don’t go yourself all day. Yisrael was lost and devastated today. Stood tall, was very slow. Even in the fifth round, when everyone realized he needed a knockout to win the fight, he didn’t even try to do it. I don’t know if he was injured or if it just wasn’t his day.”
“I think we’ll definitely organize a rematch. He’s an interesting one. Maybe the fights with Pereira, who he’s faced so many times, took all his attention and he just lost sight of Strickland. I don’t know the answers to those questions, but Israel does, and I’d like to hear it.”
White also paid tribute to the new UFC middleweight champion, who authored one of the most high-profile upsets in mixed martial arts history.
“He was in enemy territory, the whole world was talking de***ing shit about him, everybody was saying he couldn’t do it. Being a seven-to-one underdog, he went out and almost finished the champion in the first round, won the world title. Everything we’re talking about right now reinforces how crazy and unpredictable this sport is – when an opportunity comes along, you grab it and take it. You shouldn’t give up on a fight, especially if it’s a championship belt”
Recall that the middleweight title fight between Israel Adesanya and Sean Strickland, headlining the Australian numbered event, went the full distance and ended with the American winning by unanimous 49-46 three-round decision.