UFC president Dana White has spoken out about Israel Adesanya's defeat to Sean Strickland in a bout for the promotion's middleweight championship belt.
Strickland defeated Adesanya by unanimous decision on September 10 at UFC 293 to become the new UFC middleweight division champion.
At the press conference after the fight, Dana said:
Israel looked like he was in slow motion. He looked like he was really stiff tonight. He looked very slow. There are a million things that could go wrong. Even in the fifth round when everybody knew he needed a knockout to win the fight, there was no sense of urgency to try to finish the fight. So I don’t know if he’s hurt or if tonight’s the night.
Adesanya, 34, had his previous fight in April 2023 at UFC 287, defeating Alex Pereira by knockout in the second round. He has 24 wins and three losses on his record.
Strickland, 32, previously stepped into the octagon in July 2023 at UFC on ESPN 48, defeating Abusupiyan Magomedov by TKO in the second round. He has 28 wins and five losses on his record.
