Israel
Adesanya reveals Dana White tried to convince him not to fight
at
#UFC293 against Sean
Strickland“Dana was like ‘Listen kid, you got enough money. Just chill
out.’I was like ‘nah’… in hindsight maybe Dana was right.”
🎥 @stylebender
#UFCpic.twitter.com/esU9L3SxwY— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS)
May 30, 2025
Israel
Adesanya slightly regrets not listening to
Ultimate Fighting Championship CEO Dana White.
Adesanya (24-5) defended the middleweight title five times before
losing it to rival Alex
Pereira. However, Adesanya put a fairytale ending to their saga
by knocking out “Poatan,” also avenging two previous kickboxing
losses.
Adesanya was then scheduled to defend his title against Sean
Strickland (29-7), whom many considered unworthy of a title
shot. “The Last Stylebender” was a -400 favorite ahead of his UFC
293 fight against Strickland, a +350 underdog.
However, Strickland put on a defensive striking masterclass to earn
a unanimous decision win over Adesanya in one of the greatest
upsets in UFC title fight history.
Adesanya recently revealed that White had advised him not to fight
Strickland just three months removed from his win over Pereira.
However, the Kiwi was eager to fight in Sydney, having not fought
in the Australasian region in a while. While Adesanya thinks he
should have heeded White’s advice, he doesn’t mind how these
narratives take shape. To sum it up, Adesanya quoted his friend and
teammate Alexander
Volkanovski’s famous words, “adversity is a privilege.”
“I felt like I have to fight in Sydney, I haven’t fought in this
side of the world for so long,” Adesanya said while talking to
Sean
O’Malley on his YouTube channel. “And Dana was like, ‘Listen
kid, you got enough money. Just chill out for a while.’ So I was
like, ‘Nah.’ I was all stubborn then and then hindsight I’m like,
‘Maybe Dana was right. Maybe I should have just chilled.’ Again,
look, I love these stories. This is how it’s supposed to
happen…Adversity is a privilege. Shoutout Volk.”
Strickland lost in his first title defense against Dricus Du
Plessis. Du Plessis went on to submit Adesanya, who has since
suffered another stoppage loss against Nassourdine
Imavov, which put the former champ on a three-fight skid.
Meanwhile, Strickland suffered a dominant decision loss against
“Stillknocks” in their title rematch.