UFC middleweight contender Sean Strickland continues to use PED accusations as the crux of his campaign for an eventual fight with division king Israel Adesanya. But in his latest rhetoric tirade, he decided to also slam the champ for his love of anime.
As his star continues to rise on the heels of a five-fight win streak, Strickland (24-3) continues to make headlines as the MMA world becomes more aware of his unique personality. He has publicly talked about his thoughts of murder, bludgeoning future opponents, and more. Recently, the seventh-ranked middleweight took some shots at Adesanya (21-1) and accused him of being on the juice and having Gynecomastia issues.
Sean Strickland continues his campaign of tossing PED accusations at Israel Adesanya
“Izzy’s a great fighter — he comes from kickboxing — have you ever seen a fighter with gyno for any other reason than that? Besides him, have you ever seen a fighter in the UFC that smokes weed that gets gyno? Ever? You can’t, because it doesn’t f*cking happen unless you cycle wrong” Strickland told MMAJunkie last week.
“Izzy, I’ll come over dude. We can f*cking watch anime and you can put some f*cking testosterone in my ass. I’ll do it with you. Let’s f*cking go,” he continued. “With a needle, I think you guys do the stomach, right? Is that where you guys do, the stomach? You’re the expert on f*cking steroids. How’s it done?”
Strickland calls anime ‘f*cking gay’
Adesanya’s love for anime cartoons and content is well documented, after deriving his “The Last Stylebender” nickname from the popular Japanese series The Last Airbender. The 32-year-old also recently made his debut as a voice actor for the Netflix anime series Baki Hanma.
In a Wednesday interview with The Schmo, “Tarzan” was asked about the middleweight title picture. The 30-year-old has a pivotal matchup with sixth-ranked Jack Hermansson in February. The month before, third and fourth-ranked 185-pounders Jared Cannonier and Derek Brunson face off at UFC 271. The winners of those two fights could be leading candidates for a title opportunity in 2022, and Strickland believes he should be the choice if Brunson beats Cannonier as he expects.
However, Strickland is not one for a simple yes or no answer. In giving his thoughts, he saw fit to once again take aim at Adesanya with accusations of PED use, and fired shots at the folks who call themselves fans of anime.
“I got my money on Brunson. Brunson can wrestle. I know Cannonier likes to stand and bang but I think Brunson gets the W. But I don’t even f*cking watch MMA. Two scary black men are gonna be fighting, so it’s gonna be good,” Strickland said with a laugh.
“Izzy f*cking starched Brunson. Obviously, I want the f*cking title fight. I’ll bring Izzy a bra. I hope he cycled off correctly [and] his f*cking t*tties not down to here [points to an area on his chest]. But I would like to title fight Izzy. Do me a favor man, f*cking call me out bro. Let’s go anime. … Anime, f*cking gay right?”
PED accusations surrounded Adesanya last year when the middleweight king had some swelling in his chest following another successful title defense at UFC 253. The City Kickboxing fighter claimed at the time the swelling might have been related to overindulgence in marijuana, not a hormonal imbalance or testosterone deficiency.
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