UFC 293: Israel Adesanya Claims Sean Strickland Won’t Do “The Man Dance” Against Him
Israel Adesanya doesn’t believe Sean Strickland will stand and bang with him at UFC 293 this weekend. The UFC middleweight king is booked to defend his title against ‘Tarzan’ at the Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney.
After Dricus Du Plessis’ incredible second-round TKO victory over Robert Whittaker at UFC 290, the South African was widely considered Adesanya’s next title challenger. Given the bad blood between them, the UFC was also keen to book them as soon as possible. However, Du Plessis later revealed that he suffered a foot injury during his fight against Whittaker and couldn’t fight ‘The Last Stylebender’ at UFC 293.
With Israel Adesanya having cleared the middleweight division, the promotion scrambled to find a replacement opponent. That’s where Sean Strickland stepped in and was offered an immediate title shot. Given the intense rivalry between Strickland and Adesanya, the fight needed little to no promotion efforts. Over the past few weeks, the two have been vociferously attacking each other and have promised fans a blockbuster fight.
In a recent interview with MMA Junkie, Israel Adesanya discussed his upcoming title fight. The Nigerian-born Kiwi touched upon Sean Strickland’s infamous “Man Dance” strategy and claimed the American wasn’t going to do anything like that during the fight. For context, the “Man Dance” is Strickland’s way of describing a fighter getting into striking scraps with his opponent.
However, Adesanya doesn’t believe Strickland wants to do that against him. Given ‘The Last Stylebender’s kickboxing record, he might even have a point. Adesanya claimed:
“I hope he wrestles… If not, cool. Do the ‘man dance,’ as you will… I don’t think he’s going to man-dance with me… I’m a better dancer than him.”
Israel Adesanya also claimed that Sean Strickland’s stand-up striking promises are a way to sell tickets and nothing more. It remains to be seen which of the two middleweights emerge victorious this weekend.
