Israel Adesanya Issues Brief Statements Following Upset Loss at UFC 293

Israel Adesanya kept it brief after being on the wrong end of one of the biggest upsets in Ultimate Fighting Championship history.

Few expected Adesanya to have much trouble with Sean Strickland in the UFC 293 main event, but after five rounds, it was Strickland who walked away with the middleweight belt in tow following a unanimous decision victory at Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney on Saturday night.

Adesanya, who is generally one of the more thoughtful athletes on the UFC roster when it comes to interviews, made only a brief statement at the post-fight press conference before deferring to City Kickboxing head coach Eugene Bareman.

“I had a different plan for this but again life throws curveballs at you,” Adesanya said. “Win or lose, I wasn’t going to say much anyway but right now, I lost tonight to the better man on the night. I just want to go and be with people who care about me — my team and they’re waiting for me so I’m going to do that.

“But I will leave you in the capable hands of a man who is much smarter than me, I’ll admit this on worldwide national media, I’ll leave you with Eugene Bareman. He’ll handle this for the first time. I want to go chill, have some breakfast, build my family and till next time.”

With that, Adesanya exited the podium. “The Last Stylebender” later posted a brief video on social media, promising to address the defeat in greater detail down the road.

“Still thriving,” Adesanya said in the video. “It’s all good. I hate losing, but I love living. I’m thriving, so yeah. I’ll hang out with the family first, then I’ll address the people. But right now, I’ve got to put me first. I’ve got to put me first, Lucius.”

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I hate loosing, but I love living. What a life‼️ pic.twitter.com/PQ6R0YwZ56

— Israel Adesanya (@stylebender) September 10, 2023

After beginning his UFC tenure with 12 consecutive triumphs at 185 pounds (his lone defeat came at light heavyweight), Adesanya has lost two of his last three middleweight appearances. An immediate rematch with Strickland appears to be a possibility, as mentioned by UFC president Dana White during his session with media on Saturday.