Dana White has preferred opponent for Sean Stricklands first title defence after comparing upset
Dana White is keen to see Sean Strickland rematch Israel Adesanya.
Strickland dropped ‘Stylebender’ early before outpointing him to win a lopsided unanimous decision at UFC 293 in Sydney, Australia on Sunday morning.
An immediate redo initially seemed unlikely due to the one-sided nature of the fight and the fact that Dricus du Plessis is the clear number-one contender at middleweight.
However, White has suggested a rematch will happen next.
“I think you do the rematch, absolutely. I mean, the rematch is interesting,” he said during his UFC 293 post-fight press conference before speculating about why Adesanya underperformed.
“That could be the thing, too. When you think about it, you’re going into the [Alex] Pereira fight, such a big fight, and you’ve been in there with this guy so many times, and then you overlook Strickland.
“You come in and I don’t know. I don’t know the answers to these questions, but Israel does, and I’m looking forward to hearing it.”
"Yeah,” he added when asked if it was one of the biggest upsets ever.
“If you think about Australia, the biggest upsets ever in the men’s and the women’s division [Holly Holm beating Ronda Rousey] has happened in Australia.”
Matt Serra’s knockout win over Georges St-Pierre at UFC 69 in April 2007 has been widely regarded as the biggest upset in the history of men’s MMA for years.
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It’s now been displaced by Strickland's shock win, according to White,
Rousey’s first career loss was the standout upset in women’s MMA until Amanda Nunes got submitted by Julianna Pena at UFC 269 in December 2021.
‘Rowdy’ got knocked out by Holm inside two rounds when they clashed in front of more than 56,000 fans in Melbourne eight years ago.
UFC fans will already be looking forward to MMA’s premier promotion returning to Australia as it's gaining a reputation for hosting huge upsets.
Perhaps Strickland vs Adesanya II will take place down under.
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