Inside the bad blood between world champion Israel Adesanya and Sean Strickland when they meet at UFC 293 after American called the Kiwi ‘that little Chinese shit’
- Israel Adesanya to fight Sean Strickland in Sydney
- Strickland has criticized the champion for his association with China
- Says the character of the UFC middleweight champion is low
Middleweight champion Israel Adesanya will be the main attraction when the Ultimate Fighting Championship returns to Australia for the first time since 2017, but he won’t be facing the opponent he wanted.
Nigerian-born New Zealander Adesanya will defend his newly regained title against outspoken Sean Strickland as the main card of the UFC 293 Sydney event in September.
Strickland, 32, has won eight of his last 10 fights since May 2018, and has been shooting the middleweight champion for several years.
Most recently, Strickland took issue with Adesanya appearing in a video in which she has the Chinese flag draped over her shoulders and claims to have a “Chinese heart.”
“That little fucking Chinaman,” Strickland said in an interview with the schmo.
Israel Adesanya is scheduled to defend his UFC middleweight title against Sean Strickland (pictured) in the main event of UFC 293 in Sydney, Australia.
Strickland has criticized Adesanya (pictured) for his ties to China, calling him ‘little sh*t of China’
‘I’m trying to represent the United States. I’m trying to represent Australia, because I’ll tell you what: Australians, I’m more Australian than Izzy is a Chinese man.
‘I ride motorcycles, I sail boats. I like sex with attractive women, just like Izzy likes sex with guys. There’s nothing wrong with that, Izzy. It is a personal preference.
On a recent episode of The Joe Rogan Experience, Strickland again took aim at The Last Stylebender for his ties to China.
“I always call it China’s little sh*t because we’ve all done things… We’ve all been terrible to somebody,” Strickland said.
We’ve all been friends with someone we shouldn’t have been friends with. We’ve all been friends because maybe he could plug me into this or give me a dollar, but that level of being a slutty guy, oh my god.
Despite his strong opinions on the character of the UFC champion, Strickland has great respect for Adesanya’s skills in the Octagon.
‘I never said that the guy can’t fight. I’m not sitting here saying that Izzy is not a champion,” Strickland continued.
“I’m not sitting here saying that Izzy might not be one of the best fighters in the world. I’m saying that Izzy is the shit from China. If he was in prison, he’d kick you out.
I would give you up and sell you. Izzy’s character is so low.
UFC President Dana White announced the card on Wednesday.
“What I love about Israel (is) that they are always ready to take on the best in the world, anyone, anytime,” White said on social media.
And Strickland is an absolute maniac, who doesn’t back down from anyone.
Adesanya had been looking to take on South Africa’s Dricus Du Plessis after the two shared a heated exchange in the cage in July.
The bad blood stemmed from a claim by Du Plessis that he would be the UFC’s first ‘real’ African champion, referring to the fact that Adesanya and other former fighters had left the continent to live elsewhere.
Du Plessis withdrew after a foot injury sustained during his UFC 290 victory last month against Australia’s Robert Whittaker.
In the co-main event, heavyweight slugger and New South Wales native Tai Tuivasa takes on Russian Alexander Volkov.
This event will mark the first UFC fight in Sydney since 2017.
