Strickland Vs. Adesanya ‘Good To Go’ — Pending Aussie Government Approval

Strickland’s coach believes the only thing they need to lock up a title shot against Israel Adesanya is a visa to enter Australia legally.

It sounds like Sean Strickland is the best option left for Israel Adesanya at UFC 293 in Sydney, Australia.

After No. 1 contender Dricus Du Plessis refused to face “The Last Stylebender” on five weeks notice after beating Robert Whittaker at UFC 290, every middleweight in the top ten has been jockeying for a title shot on September 10th. Adesanya himself called for a fight against Sean Strickland, but Strickland recently claimed ‘UFC doesn’t want it’ in a cryptic social media posting.

Whether they want it or not, that’s what’s in the process of happening. In a new interview with Submission Radio, Strickland’s head coach Erick Nicksick gave a positive update to those looking forward to Strickland facing Adesanya.

“I mean, all signs are pointing in a good direction,” he said. “I know that. So, we just got done sparring just now. I’d ask Sean, hey, what’s the deal? – I’m going to be out there anyway. I’m going to be cornering Casey O’Neal and, Manel [Kape]. So, it’d be nice to get a get the third guy on the card.

“But right now, all he’s working on is getting his visa in order. But the fight, the signs look like it’s a yes. It’s all pointing in a good direction. But it hasn’t been official yet. So, we’re still kind of in a holding pattern.”

“We’re just kind of at the mercy of the visa process,” he said. But he said all parties involved are on board. We haven’t talked any logistics as far as numbers go until that visa gets done. And then that would be the next hurdle. But I don’t think it would be that difficult of a hurdle to cross. But moreover, I think the visa thing is the biggest hurdle that we have to get through right now. And then once we get over that, man, and then the business kicks in and I think we’ll be good to go.”

A visa doesn’t sound all that complicated until you remember this is for Sean Strickland. How many legal skeletons does this guy have in his closet? The way he talks and acts, he must have been arrested at least a few times. The Australian government can be pretty big sticklers when it comes to that kind of stuff. And it’s a bit suspicious that Sean hasn’t fought outside the U.S. since 2018.

Still, it certainly sounds like Sean Strickland is at the front of the line for a fight against middleweight champion Israel Adesanya. Here’s hoping the UFC has a back-up for their back-up, though, as the Australian government gets the last word on this particular contender getting his shot.