Despite Adesanya’s stellar reign atop the middleweight division, the lopsided nature of his title loss led to some questions about the Nigerian-born Kiwi’s potential claim to an immediate rematch.
Meanwhile, Strickland has his own priorities when it comes to his first title defense. The newly-crowned champ recently revealed that he is open to fighting anyone who promises a big payday.
“My thing is, dude, when it comes to that next fight, everybody’s like, ‘Who do you want to fight?’ I don’t give a f—k, dude. I want to make f—-ing money,” Strickland said on “The Man Dance” podcast. “I get those pay-per-view buys. Give me somebody who’s going to make f—-ing money. I don’t want to fight anybody boring. I want to fight, you know, give me someone who’s making money.”
Strickland also acknowledges that Adesanya will likely get an immediate rematch and expects a better showing from “The Last Stylebender” the second time around.
“It was a good time, you guys. It was a good time,” Strickland said. “I like fighting. I like to hit [people]. I like to fight, I give 110%, it was good. I thought Izzy would be better. I’m sure the UFC might give him a rematch and he might take it a little bit more serious and put up a better fight.”