Israel Adesanya may have to wait a little longer until he can fight against Sean Strickland again after the former champion has received an indefinite suspension.
When Israel Adesanya lost its middleweight title to Sean Strickland on UFC 293 in 2023, it seemed inevitable that the two would clash in a rematch in a day because it was a huge upset.
And earlier this year, 'The Last Stylebender' again shouted Strickland for a rematch with the two that came after the background of losses and the timing logical for both, where Strickland has not fought since his title loss against Dricus du Plessis on UFC 312.
The controversial middleweight apparently never responded to the callout of Adesanya and now things have taken an unfortunate turn for Strickland.
Photo by Louis Grasse/Getty images
Strickland receives an indefinite suspension because Adesanya claims that he does not want the fight
A few weeks ago, Strickland again made the headlines for the wrong reasons after he stormed the cage during a small MMA event and hit a hunter who submitted his teammate.
And it has now been confirmed that Strickland has received a suspension extension from the Nevada State Athletic Commission. On Wednesday, the NSAC voted unanimously to extend the suspension of Strickland, which was initially published on July 3.
The former champion remains suspended until a complete disciplinary hearing or assessment agreement has been reached and that meeting will only take place during the following monthly meeting in August.
And with that, the UFC is currently unable to book him unclear whether he will receive a long suspension.
Adesanya does not know for sure whether he will get his desired fight against his rival this year, and he has claimed that Strickland does not want to fight against him, regardless of.
“I have declared this guy how often, but now he wants to fight Belal (Mohammed), but why, I don't understand. He never said anything else, but again, it's easy money, you have defeated me once again, come on again, come on, it will be fine,” Adesanya said in a video on his YouTube canal.
“I just want the fight anyway, I think it will be a good fight. I want that fight, it's a big fight for him and I just want that fight only for me again, because look, (Alex) Pereira beat me how often and I just accepted it … I just want to make sure I did this again,” he went further.
No other fights are useful for Israel Adesanya
At this point in his career, no other fights seem to be logical for 'The Last Stylebender', especially in view of the fact that he is coming off three losses in a row, with his last a brutal loss for Nassourdine Imavov.
It is unlikely that Adesanya will induce the middleweight title on this point in his career, but even with a victory over Strickland, it will open several doors to him.