Israel
Adesanya was a massive -600 favorite going into his UFC 293
title defense against Sean
Strickland on Sept. 9.
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Mixed martial arts fans watched in awe as the odds steadily changed
after every round with Strickland emphatically outclassing the
Nigerian-born Kiwi to the point where the challenger was a -125
favorite going into the final frame.
Adesanya looked out of his wits, especially after getting dropped
in the first round of the bout, en route to a lopsided unanimous
decision loss in one of the greatest title fight upsets in the
history of the sport.
Adesanya’s head coach at City Kickboxing in Auckland, Eugene
Bareman, has come under somewhat undue criticism in the
aftermath of the championship loss for “The Last Stylebender”
against Strickland.
While Bareman is credited with forming an elite MMA hub in that
part of the world, honing the likes of Alexander
Volkanovski and Kai
Kara-France, one upset loss was seemingly enough to earn him
the wrath of fans.
One fan opined that it is perhaps time to start questioning the
coaching capabilities of Bareman while comparing him to NBA coach
Doc Rivers, who holds the NBA record for most Game 7 losses in
history.
He’s absolutely elite. What he’s help build
in a short amount of time, with limited resources due to proximity,
is nothing short of miraculous. Honestly, had we lost that picture
could’ve easily been mine. 🙏🏼❤️— Eric Nicksick (@Eric_XCMMA)
September 11, 2023
However, Strickland’s head coach at Xtreme Couture, Eric Nicksick,
firmly defended Bareman while noting that he could easily have been
on the other side of the table.
“He’s absolutely elite,” Nicksick wrote on social media in reply to
the fan. “What he’s help [sic] build in a short amount of time,
with limited resources due to proximity, is nothing short of
miraculous. Honestly, had we lost that picture could’ve easily been
mine.”