What does the career of Israel Adesanya lack? Most of them won’t be able to answer. The flamboyant champion had a dominant run in the UFC, except for one minor hiccup with Alex Pereira. He had a splendid comeback and is again occupying the top spot in the middleweight division’s food chain. Despite his boastful resume, there is still one achievement that escapes him.

The 34-year-old is 22-2, and out of his 22 wins, 16 came via knockout. Thus, suggesting his penchant for fighting on the feet and finishing it there only. However, there is one aspect that he lacks, as pointed out by his critics, in his fight against Jan Blachowicz: his ground game.

Israel Adesanya opens up about what he deeply wants to happen in his career

Let’s stretch his 22-2 record further, and you will find out that the Nigerian-Kiwi fighter has yet to register a submission win in his career. He even accepted that he wanted to showcase his grappling skills when the ‘Stylebender’ appeared in an interview with TSN. Further, when asked what he deeply wanted to do before he hung up his gloves, he had only one answer in mind: A submission win.

Adesanya said, “What do I want in my career? Submission. I definitely want a submission. Following this, the UFC champion mentioned that this could come true in his upcoming fight against Sean Strickland at UFC 293. He knew ‘Tarzan’ would wrestle, and if he didn’t, he would be ,”dumb”. 

Adesanya added, “It might be this fight. I know he’s going to wrestle. Easy. He’ll be dumb not to [do] so. I know he’s gonna try. And mix it up. He’s doing this whole thing. Man dance, man dance. He’s done a crotch sniff. That’s what he’s gonna do.”

Read More: “It’s Not Going to Happen”- Sean Strickland Leaks His Strategy for Israel Adesanya Fight at UFC 293 With 10 Days Left for MW Championship in Sydney

Meanwhile, his opponent has laid out his strategy ahead of their fight. As expected, the American fighter would mix wrestling, but that’s not it. It appears he might refrain from taking the fight to the ground, despite working tirelessly on it.

Sean Strickland his wrestling conundrum against Adesanya

Strickland, at 27-5, recently revealed he had been wrestling in his camp. However, there was more to it. He said, “I think to myself, I want to f*cking stand and bang with this guy… But I should wrestle. I’ve been planning to wrestle.”

Thus, when both would clash at the Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney on September 10, it would be an amusing sight. There would be a couple of predictable questions with unpredictable answers. Whether Strickland would stick to his wrestling strategy. Whether Adesanya would register his first submission win.

What do you think of these comments by Israel Adesanya? Do you believe he’ll get a submission soon? Let us know in the comments below.

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