Israel Adesanya Wanted to Go All Out Against Sean Strickland; Coach Advised Otherwise

Israel Adesanya wanted to throw the kitchen sink at Sean Strickland going into the final frame of their UFC 293 title fight, but coach Eugene Bareman advised otherwise.

Adesanya was a -650 favorite going into his UFC 293 title defense against Strickland, who stepped up on short notice for an injured Dricus Du Plessis. Strickland knocked down the champ in the very first round en route to a dominant decision win in one of the greatest upsets in UFC title fight history.

Adesanya had no doubt he was losing entering the final round and wanted to go out with guns blazing. However, City Kickboxing head coach Eugene Bareman wanted Adesanya to employ a more “tactical” approach.

“I never lost hope,” Adesanya said in an interview with Teddy Atlas. “I went back to the corner, Round 3 or Round 4, whatever it was, I was like, ‘Right, we go this round, we must go this round.’ Even like when I asked Eugene in the fifth round, I said ‘Should I just go?’ And he’s like, ‘No, let’s be tactical.’ I wanted to kind of be like, ‘F—k it, let’s go.’ Like, if I die, I die, like, go out on your shield.

”He was like, ‘Let’s be tactical.’ It got to the point where I realized this fight’s getting away from me. It got to a point where I felt like, ‘Damn. It’s too far gone.’ Like when someone’s in a race in the 100 meters, he was too far ahead and I just couldn’t catch up. I was trying my best to try and finish him in the early rounds. Regardless, I never lost hope, that’s the thing.”

Adesanya doesn’t have his next fight booked, but he recently revealed that he will be back in action sooner than originally expected.