Physical Address
Suite 5, 181 High Street,
Willoughby North NSW 2068
P4P #1 makes huge statement! | 02:22
Israel Adesanya has declared his intent to get a rematch with American Sean Strickland – stressing “I know what I can do to that man” – while also talking through the surprise similarities between himself and longtime arch rival Rob Whittaker.
UFC 312: Du Plessis v Strickland 2 | SUN 9 FEB | Order Now with Main Event on Kayo Sports. Main Event on Kayo Sports and Foxtel is the exclusive home of UFC Pay-Per-View.
Speaking with Fox Sports Australia this week, Adesanya has revealed he and Whittaker bonded well during their recent – and highly surprising — training camp in Auckland, thanks in part to the pair both being “nerds” who share a love of “childlike s…” including anime and video games.
The two-time UFC champion also spoke of his desire to rematch Strickland, who is now set to headline Australia’s UFC 312 title blockbuster against reigning middleweight king Dricus du Plessis on February 9.
Adesanya, meanwhile, will himself return to the cage against Dagestani Nassourdine Imavov in Saudi Arabia on February 2 — the first time he hasn’t had a belt on the line in some six years, and following 12 straight championship appearances.
The Fight Night headliner arrives after a surprise bromance of sorts between himself and the Sydneysider dubbed Bobby Knuckle, who he beat for the UFC title in 2019 before then defending against in a rematch three years later.
Earlier this month, Whittaker jetted across the ditch with his team to spend a few days working out with Adesanya at his famed City Kick Boxing gym.
The surprise visit came as the popular New Zealander makes final preparations for his bout against Imavov, and following consecutive championship losses against Strickland and then DDP – both of whom he fought in Australian headliners.
Would’ve tried hitting him with my car’: Superstar foes become friends in 100 year’ turn
‘Give me the chance’: Blockbuster moves on table as UFC king floats option for next fight
Back in 2023, at UFC 293 in Sydney, Adesanya lost his strap in a shock upset against Strickland, who fought his way to a convincing unanimous decision win over five rounds.
In an interview some months later, the 35-year-old’s trainer Eugene Bareman said his charge would never get over the shock defeat due to the fact he “just fought badly” being largely “unexplainable”.
Yet speaking this week, Adesanya said he not only understands much better now about why he lost that fight, but suggests a Strickland rematch will happen – albeit with everything dependant on not only his own headliner in Saudi Arabia, but what happens at UFC 312 in Sydney.
Asked if he expected to face Strickland again, the Kiwi replied: “I’m sure we will.
“I just didn’t like the way that fight played out.
“Yes, it was his night.
“He beat me five nil.
“The Dricus fight, I wasn’t too worried (about his performance) there because I was doing well, then made a mistake and he capitalized.
“But with Strickland, I want to really fight him to the best of my ability.
“And then if he beats me, well done to him.
“But I know what I can do to the man.”
Asked if he had worked out why things didn’t click inside the cage that afternoon in Sydney, Adesanya continued: “Yeah, but right now my only focus is Imavov.
“He’s slick, very well rounded.
“Has some nice boxing, very fast, and mixes his grappling and striking well.
“He’s a good fighter and everything we’ve done for the past 16 weeks has been focused on him completely.
“Come fight night, I can’t wait to showcase what I can really do.”
Elsewhere, Adesanya stressed he had benefited from working with Whittaker, who he branded a “stand up guy”.
“We’ve shared so much together,” Adesanya started, “and now we’re on the other side of it, trying to make our dreams come true and look after our families”.
So as for what most surprised him about finally getting to know his longtime rival?
“Nothing,” he insisted.
“I’ve always known Rob was a good dude.
“And I knew we’d get along, always knew.
“Even he did.
“Because we’re both just f…ing nerds.
“We both like childlike s…
“And now that (the rivalry) is over, it’s Anzac united.
“On this side of the world, we’ve paved the way for generations.
“He was the first middleweight champ from Australasia and I take inspiration from that.
“We’re better together.
“Stronger as Anzac united.”
Speaking about the surprise partnership on Main Event’s Fight Week recently, Whittaker laughed of Adesanya: “I don’t know if I hated him, but I’m pretty sure 10 years ago I would have tried hitting him with my car if I could”.
But now?
‘Rivals one day, friends the next’: Rob Whittaker training with Israel Adesanya. Picture: InstagramSource: Instagram“It’s a funny world,” Whittaker continued.
“If you were to ask me a few years ago if I’d seen this coming, the answer would have been ‘not in a hundred years’.
“I guess where we were with the team back home, one of my training partners got injured, a couple of the boys retired and had other commitments they wanted to focus on.
“I sat down with the team, and (coach) Alex (Prates) was like ‘we need some bodies, how are we going to get them?’. We started looking for them.
“I think I’m fortunate enough to be able to train in most places, and get along with most people. We started looking around, and it was a lightning bolt.
“We realised City Kickboxing is only a two-and-a-half hour flight away, and they’ve got the bodies, (plus) it’s New Zealand, the place of my birth.
“Alex reached out… had a conversation, me, Alex and a couple of training partners came across to test the waters, see how we are getting along, and yeah, we are getting along.”
