Israel Adesanya Vs. Sean Strickland 2 At Noche UFC???

Israel Adesanya’s head coach wants him to fight Sean Strickland next weekend … Um, okay.

Adesanya lost the Middleweight championship tonight at UFC 293 (Sat., Sept. 9, 2023) when he lost a clear unanimous decision to Sean Strickland from inside Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, Australia (watch highlights).

“The Last Stylebender” didn’t say much after the fight as he abruptly left the UFC 293 post-fight press conference and let his coach, Eugene Bareman, speak for him.

“I asked Mick [Maynard] if we could have the rematch next weekend,” Bareman told the media. “So, whether he grants it, I’m not sure, but I’m just very confident that we can change the outcome of this fight with very minor adjustments.”

Matchmaker Mick Maynard will not have Adesanya fight Strickland next weekend for Noche UFC, which makes what Bareman said strange.

While Bareman wants a rematch, he admitted that entering a ‘rematch camp’ is very difficult.

“In my career, I’ve been involved in a few rematch camps, and they are very, very difficult,” Bareman said. “Why are they so difficult? Why is the rematch camp so difficult? You’re trying to find other stones to leave unturned, but you’ve already haven’t left the stone unturned. So, it’s like it’s almost an impossible task. You’re trying to find another level above the level that you’ve already achieved, but it’s not achievable. So it’s very, very difficult. When you go into these rematch camps, and at this level – I’ve done a few: the [Alex] Pereira one just recently, it’s very, very difficult to do a rematch game. But like I said, I don’t think we have to change too much. But we will find something because we have the benefit of time. So, we will get down to our usual business as a coaching team. And we’ll find something to add to this to add to this camp. And we will win the rematch.”

Adesanya has had three rematches thus far in his UFC career: Robert Whittaker, Marvin Vettori, and Pereira, and has won all three of them.

Bareman might want his fighter to compete next weekend, but it is probably time for the former champion to take the rest of the year off because he has fought three times this year and needs a break.

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For complete UFC 293 results, coverage, and highlights click HERE.