September 10, 2023 9:30 am ET
SYDNEY – Israel Adesanya didn’t wish to subject questions from the media after defeat, so as a substitute, he put his head coach Eugene Bareman in his seat.
Adesanya (24-3 MMA, 13-3 UFC) misplaced his UFC middleweight title in a shocking unanimous decision loss to Sean Strickland (28-5 MMA, 15-5 UFC) Saturday evening in the primary occasion of UFC 293. After the occasion, the Nigerian fighter stepped into the media room to announce that he needed to be together with his family and friends, and that Bareman would supply solutions on his behalf.
Bareman, head coach at Metropolis Kickboxing, was most likely simply as shocked with the outcome as the remainder of the fight sports activities world.
“The universe does issues,” Bareman mentioned on the UFC 293 post-fight press convention. “I believe Sean is a good fighter and I by no means thought that Sean wasn’t able to beating Israel, however I assumed if Israel carried out to the fullest of his capabilities, that it could be exhausting for Sean. “There was an alternate type of universe the place Israel performs his poorest or poorly the place Sean may win, and I’m sitting in that universe proper now. Coaching camp was nice. I’m not going to make any excuses in regard to that. Main as much as the struggle was nice, sparring companions, every little thing. All of the technical issues that need to do with the camp had been excellent. No excuses there.”
Bareman is hoping the UFC books a right away rematch between Adesanya and Strickland, as he’s assured they’ll get the belt again. He already expressed his curiosity to UFC matchmaker Mick Maynard.
Bareman believes Adesanya wasn’t on his A-game, and is bound they’ll beat Strickland even when they fought instantly.
“I requested Mick if we may have the rematch subsequent weekend,” Bareman mentioned. “Will he grant it? I’m unsure, however I’m simply very assured we are able to change the end result of this struggle with some minor changes. What I’m saying is that we couldn’t get Israel to enact our plan. There wasn’t a lot cohesion within the nook. You’ve gotten nights like this. I believe we are able to do the rematch tomorrow and have an excellent evening.”
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