"Salty much?" - Fans react to Israel Adesanya sarcastically applauding Sean Strickland's "amazing" UFC championship reign

Israel Adesanya recently jibed at Sean Strickland's brief stint as a UFC champion.

Adesanya came up short against Strickland at UFC 293 last September, marking one of the most notable upsets in recent UFC history. The American dominated him across five rounds, highlighted by a colossal knockdown early in the bout, culminating in a decisive unanimous decision triumph.

However, four months later, 'Tarzan' lost his title to Dricus du Plessis at UFC 297 via a contentious split decision.

During a recent appearance on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani, 'The Last Stylebender' mocked Strickland's brief reign as the 185-pound champion:

"It was just his week, his moment to shine, and what a reign! Amazing, amazing what he has done. Great, I love it... I'm being serious; he beat Israel Adesanya, and he beat me, it was bigger than anything."

Check out Israel Adesanya's comments below:

Adesanya's remarks sparked a diverse range of responses from fans.

One fan wrote:

"Izzy had a great 2nd reign, too, right?"

Another wrote:

"Salty much?"

Check out some more reactions below:

Credits: @MMAFighting on X

Last October, 'The Last Stylebender' announced his intention to take a break from active competition after losing to Strickland. However, it seems Adesanya has ended his hiatus and is actively seeking a new opponent. Initially, there were rumors of a matchup between the Nigerian-born Kiwi and du Plessis in the main event of UFC 300, but the fight failed to materialize.

Now, fans anticipate a showdown between the reigning 185-pound champion and Adesanya later this year.

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Israel Adesanya talks about Dricus du Plessis rejecting potential UFC 300 main event title bout

Israel Adesanya recently weighed in on Dricus du Plessis' choice to decline a potential showdown in the headlining bout of UFC 300.

'The Last Stylebender' disclosed that he was informed about the UFC 300 main event, featuring Alex Pereira and Jamahal Hill, just minutes before its official announcement, as he was preparing to face the reigning middleweight champion.

During the same interview with Ariel Helwani, Adesanya expressed his frustration with 'Stillknocks' for passing up the opportunity to headline the historic pay-per-view event:

"They’re not built like us. It’s different. I wasn’t even fully healed. I’m taking time off, and when the opportunity presented itself, I was like, 'F**k, it’s history. It’s this is monumental. UFC 300, f**k it, let’s do it.' But again, they don’t do it like us." [via MMA Fighting]

Watch the full interview below: