Israel Adesanya and Sean Strickland detest each other. The bad blood between them has been simmering for the past year and their animosity was on full display at their pre-fight press conference yesterday.

The two treaded over familiar territory, reiterating why they disliked each other and promising to knock the other out in their bout at UFC 293 this Sunday. And, after ‘Tarzan’ accused ‘Izzy’ of selling out to China, Adesanya went on the offensive and, in turn, accused Strickland of selling out to secure an endorsement deal.

Israel Adesanya calls out Strickland for selling out to Monster Energy

Adesanya has a long-standing feud with Monster Energy executive Hans Molenkamp, and he has called him out for making fighters change their behavior during fight promotion and for chasing after clout. Molenkamp decides which fighters Monster Energy signs and has been accused of holding back fighters to pressure them into complying with his demands. This is why Adesanya dislikes the beverage brand and refuses to promote it. He has been known to throw and hide the drink when he comes to the stage.

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And when Adesanya saw Strickland promoting the brand, he accused him of selling his soul for money. “When did you sign a Monster Energy deal? When did you sell your soul? Tell me, hey, you signed your soul recently, right? Isn’t it funny every time I have to fight someone, Monster signs them immediately and becomes a fan of them. You know why? Because I didn’t sell out and I didn’t sell my soul. What’d you have to do to that pig-headed f*** [Hans Molenkamp], huh?” the middleweight champion asked Strickland.

Strickland also comes out all guns blazing

Strickland struck back and pointed out to fans that Adesanya race-baited Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 292 and wore a t-shirt to diss his ex-girlfriend. He stated that it was a shame that this was the type of person who was the middleweight champion.

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“Let’s talk about Izzy’s last show… Izzy is on a world stage and he goes up in the cage to call out Dricus Du Plessis, and he f***ing race baits him like literally bro, that’s your message? And not only [that]. He wears a shirt to sh** on his ex-girlfriend. This is the f***ing kind of champion we have and it’s a goddamn shame,” Strickland retorted.

The hostility and antagonism between them are the main reasons fans are waiting for the fight. And with Adesanya promising to wear nail paint in the fight and do a TikTok dance on Strickland’s body if he can knock him out, the stakes are very high.

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