Israel Adesanya didn’t have much to say after his UFC 293 loss.
After a circumvention of the typical in-cage interview Saturday at Qudos Bank Arena following his loss to Sean Strickland (28-5 MMA, 15-5 UFC), Israel Adesanya (24-3 MMA, 13-3 UFC) questions from reporters at a post-fight news conference after a brief address.
“Pause. I had a different plan for this. But life throws curve balls at you,” Israel Adesanya said to reporters. “Win or lose, I wasn’t going to say much anyway. But right now, I lost tonight to the better man on the night. I just want to go be with people who care about me: my team. They’re waiting for me, so I’m going to do that.
But, I’m going to leave you in the capable hands of a man who is much smarter than me. I’ll admit this on worldwide, national media. I’ll leave it with Eugene Bareman. He’ll handle this for the first time. I’m going to go chill, have some breakfast, build my family, and until next time.”
Israel Adesanya exited the media room and was replaced by City Kickboxing coach Eugene Bareman, who then answered a few questions from reporters about his fighter’s championship loss to Sean Strickland.
Minutes after his news conference departure, Israel Adesanya posted a brief video on his social media accounts where he cryptically addressed the loss.
“Still thriving,” Israel Adesanya said. “It’s all good. I hate losing, but I love living. I’m thriving, so yeah. I’ll hang out with the family first, then I’ll address the people. But right now, I’ve got to put me first. I’ve got to put me first, Lucius.”
Israel Adesanya, 34, has typically fielded questions from the media following his UFC losses, even when brief. It’s unclear if there is more to his defeat than he is letting on, as UFC president Dana White pondered.