UFC 293: Adesanya Vs. Strickland Pre-Fight Presser, Adesanya And Kape Almost Come To Blows
Israel Adesanya and Sean Strickland faced off in their pre-fight presser ahead of their bout on September 9th, 2023, at UFC 293.
Adesanya will defend his middleweight title for the first time since his win over Alex Pereira as he faces the fifth-ranked contender in the form of Strickland. The latter is on a two-fight-win streak, as he seeks to pull off a shock that would give him his first world title. With that being said, here were the key highlights from the presser.
Highlights
"He has nothing to lose and everything to gain." @Stylebender | #UFC293 pic.twitter.com/7j15U68cap
— UFC (@ufc) September 7, 2023
Loving the energy of the crowd in Australia! 🇦🇺😅@SStricklandMMA | #UFC293 pic.twitter.com/cjgmO7fci9
— UFC (@ufc) September 7, 2023
👊🕺 @Stylebender has the plan set in place for this one! #UFC293 pic.twitter.com/mPseh2EowF
— UFC (@ufc) September 7, 2023
Up for the challenge! 🔥@SStricklandMMA already going all out right away at the champ! #UFC293 pic.twitter.com/RNZvFuRTO5
— UFC_AUSNZ (@UFC_AUSNZ) September 7, 2023
Izzy's in no mood for some trashtalk it seems… 👀 #UFC293 pic.twitter.com/ikC68W5EkH
— UFC_AUSNZ (@UFC_AUSNZ) September 7, 2023
Adesanya Vs. Kape
Aside from the Adesanya and Strickland comments, the former was also involved in an altercation with Manel Kape. This was in response to Kape being asked about his upcoming fight with Felipe dos Santos after his initial opponent Kai Kara-France pulled out due to an injury. However, Kai Kara-France was still present at the presser to support his teammates. That grabbed Kape’s attention who said the following.
“Unfortunately, Kai Kara-France is a b****. A f****** b*****. [Sitting] in front of me and you are f****** guilty because this kid’s going to pay. Because you f****** p*****,”
In response, Adesanya stood up to back up his teammate. That is when things escalated out of control.
“I’ll f*** you up. Shut your mouth. Look at this little midget trying to f*** with me. I’ll f****** bury you,” Adesanya said
And out of nowhere, it was Strickland who managed to calm things down.
“Calm the f*** down. That’s not the fight. Leave the little man alone. I’m supposed to be the assh*** here Izzy, that’s not your job,” Strickland