Strickland Slugs Trash-Talking Izzy Fan

UFC middleweight contender Sean Strickland is prowling the streets of Sydney, snapping photos with MMA fans ahead of the UFC 293 pay-per-view (PPV) event this weekend at Qudos Bank Arena. Unfortunately for all parties involved, one Israel Adesanya supporter got a little too close for comfort, ultimately paying the price for his “Tarzan” trash talk.

“Boom, right in the guts,” Strickland told FOX Sports Australia. “I’d only been in Australia a day and already I’d committed an assault. Initially, I thought the guy was coming up for a photo because anybody who wants a photo, man, I love the fans. But if you wanna come up to me and run your (expletive) mouth, I’ll smack you like I smack anybody else. Uppercut to his stomach. Then I walked away. But if I see the guy again, man, no problems … I’ll thank him for not pressing charges.”

Yet!

Perhaps this is what Adesanya had in mind when he made reference to Strickland “embarrassing the company” ahead of this weekend’s title fight. “Tarzan” has a history of losing his cool and often makes headlines for being awful on multiple levels. In fact, Strickland recently bragged about how many people he’s injured in training camp.

Safe to say that honorary citizenship is in jeopardy after this latest stunt.

Remember that MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 293 fight card right here, starting with the early ESPN+ “Prelims” matches online, which are scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. ET, then the remaining undercard on ESPNN/ESPN+ at 8 p.m. ET, before the PPV main card start time at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN+ PPV.

To check out the latest and greatest UFC 293: “Adesanya vs. Strickalnd” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here.