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Israel Adesanya doesn't deem Sean Strickland to be a good sparring partner. Adesanya labeled Strickland a "rotten apple" for hurting his teammates during sparring.
'The Last Stylebender' also believes that Strickland's widely infamous sparring videos of him landing serious damage on his partners doesn't really translate to his fights. Additionally, the UFC middleweight champion opined that Strickland has "many screws loose."
Adesanya recently said on his YouTube channel:
"Sean Strickland. He's a bad m***erf***er. Like, literally bad. Rotten apple. But I like the guy, he's funny and he likes to talk shit as well. And his stand-up, I've seen him do more damage on YouTube in sparring than in his fights. Put it that way. I've seen his sparring footages and I would never spar with an idiot like that. I've hurt people in sparring before and I'm just like, 'Shit, my bad'. Or I'll pull back with the body shot or whatever but I've seen what he does... He's got many screws loose, many screws loose."
Watch the clip below:
Strickland has gained notoriety for his gym antics which have often led to serious altercations. Known for going all out during sparring, the middleweight prospect even posted a video of himself putting a teammate to sleep with a vicious headkick.
Watch the video below:
Alex Pereira believes Jared Cannonier has a chance of knocking out Israel Adesanya
Sean Strickland's upcoming opponent Alex Pereira holds two kickboxing victories over Israel Adesanya, including a knockout. 'Poatan' will face Strickland at UFC 276 next weekend, the same night that Adesanya puts his middleweight title on the line against Jared Cannonier.
Pereira is confident that a win over Strickland will propel him towards a potential title shot next. The Brazilian, however, is not concerned about the outcome of the upcoming title fight. While he acknowledged Israel Adesanya's status as the betting favorite, 'Poatan' believes Cannonier could score a knockout over the champion.
The 34-year-old recently told MMA Junkie:
“I think Adesanya is the favorite, but everything can happen in a fight. If he makes a mistake he can get caught and be knocked out. I can’t see him losing by decision, but I think Cannonier has a real chance of knocking him out or submitting him – more likely knocking him out. But I believe Adesanya is the favorite. In the end, it doesn’t matter to me who wins that fight, My goal is the belt. So good fight for them. I’m very confident I’ll be the challenger of the winner next.”
MMA fans can check out this special video made by Sportskeeda:
