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Current UFC middleweight champion of the world, Israel Adesanya, arguably one of the biggest stars in the organization, still wants to face Sean Strickland next after being defeated in a shocking upset. Even so, he has not been able to book another fight against Strickland yet, though he has a lot of confidence that this fight will happen again shortly. Since the last fight, Adesanya has recaptured the middleweight title and wants to avenge his defeat by Strickland.
The Surprising loss to Strickland
Unsurprisingly, it remains a huge upset of the MMA landscape that Israel Adesanya lost to Sean Strickland in 2023. That was a fight that Israel Adesanya seemingly anticipated to dominate but could not; it was a fight that was lost to Strickland. Nevertheless, he experienced a loss to Strickland and is now working harder to overcome that defeat, aiming for a rematch.
After losing to Strickland, Israel Adesanya quickly regained his middleweight title in August by defeating Dricus Du Plessis. He could do this by posting a victory against Dricus Du Plessis, who had relieved Strickland of the belt. That victory can be attributed to his tenacity and desire to stay at the division’s top for a long time.
That said, although he re-captured the title, he has not been able to get the rematch with Strickland, for which he is badly eager. Nonetheless, he is optimistic it will come, and when it does, he will be prepared. He showed an interest in facing Strickland in the future, but it looks like Strickland’s next fight could be an amide with Du Plessis, a man who stripped him of his belt. The Strickland-Du Plessis fight could shape the middleweight division and pave the way for Israel Adesanya’s desired rematch.
Israel Adesanya’s Confidence in a Re-Match
Even as Israel admits to not being at his best when he clashed with Strickland the first time, he claims he has a better version that would win Strickland’s. He is very confident that there will be different results when they fight again, and he looks forward to proving to the world that he can beat Stickland. He mentioned that
“That was just his week, and his, and everything. So it’s his time; let him have it, but I definitely know what I can do. I took his best shots, and I just know I can take this guy. I know what I can do. Not similar to the Pereira one where I was winning, but this one, I definitely know what I can do with this guy.”
He tries to maintain confidence in his fighting skills. The new interesting fights in the middleweight division will be key to the attention of Adesanya, Strickland, and Du Plessis as the UFC progresses. Whether the rematch will happen sooner or later, Adesanya does not mind; he is ready and willing to fight and confirm his victory again.
Final Thoughts
Israel Adesanya and Sean Strickland’s rivalry was over? Think again. Focusing on his goal to finally regain the title, Adesanya is sure that he had a chance to fight Strickland again, and the next time, he won’t lose, thus becoming one of the best middleweight fighters in the UFC. Until then, the audience will have even higher anticipation for fights featuring some of the best fighters in a division.
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Five biggest losers from the 2025 MLB trade deadline
The 2025 Major League Baseball trade deadline was 6 p.m. ET on Thursday. Some teams managed to get better in either a short-term or long-term outlook. Other teams did not. We've already gone over the five biggest winners, which featured some surprising teams. Here we are focusing on the five teams that were the biggest losers. Minnesota Twins The good news for Twins fans is the team did not trade outfielder Byron Buxton or starting pitcher Joe Ryan. The bad news for Twins fans is the team traded pretty much everybody else. The worst news is the Twins have pretty much sabotaged any goodwill the team had built up in recent years, including their 2023 trip to the American League Division Series. Since then the Twins collapsed late last season, did very little in the offseason and then completely gutted the roster over the past two weeks, including a straight salary-dump trade of Carlos Correa to the Houston Astros, his former team. This is going to be a long, slow climb back to the top. Pittsburgh Pirates The Pirates had a chance to have a potentially impactful trade deadline with some intriguing trade chips in what had become a seller's market. They ended up trading closer David Bednar, third baseman Ke'Bryan Hayes, starting pitcher Bailey Falter and relief pitcher Caleb Ferguson. They held on to pending free agents Isiah Kiner-Falefa, Tommy Pham and Andrew Heaney. What's so baffling about the trades they did make is that they gave up useful, productive players with years of team control still remaining, did not get a single highly-ranked prospect back in return and kept the players that are going to leave for nothing. The only winner here is owner Bob Nutting's bank account for all of the money he saved in the future by dumping Hayes' contract and potential arbitration years from Bednar and Falter. Chicago Cubs After paying a steep price to get outfielder Kyle Tucker in the offseason everybody in Chicago knew the clock was ticking on the Cubs to build a winner around him. He is a free agent after this season and seems determined to hit the open market for the highest bidder. Even though the Cubs have emerged as a contender, it was pretty clear as the season has gone on that they needed at least one more starting pitcher. They did not get one, and instead only added a utility infielder (Willi Castro) and reliever Taylor Rogers. While so many teams around them in the NL managed to get better, it's an underwhelming deadline performance for a team that should be going all in. Atlanta Braves It's not that the Braves did anything poor at the trade deadline that makes them losers. It's that they didn't do ... anything. At least not anything that they needed to do. None of their pending free agents were moved, no significant changes were made to a team going nowhere this season and the only move they did make was a marginal trade involving Rafael Montero. That is extremely underwhelming. Boston Red Sox The Red Sox were rumored to be in the market for a significant starting pitcher, including Minnesota's Joe Ryan. They did not make that sort of splash move, and instead added Steven Matz and Dustin May. For a team trying to hang in the American League playoff race, that is not really exciting. They also paid a steep price to get May, giving up one of the top prospects — outfielder James Tibbs III — they acquired in the Rafael Devers trade to the San Francisco Giants.
Report reveals if Commanders intend to trade WR Terry McLaurin
In the absence of progress at the negotiating table, Terry McLaurin went public with a trade request on Thursday. The chances of the Commanders dealing him away have long been viewed as low, and that remains the case at this point. A number of teams inquired with Washington about McLaurin prior to the news of his trade request. As Nicki Jhabvala and Dianna Russini of The Athletic report, though, the Commanders informed suitors they have no plans of moving on from the two-time Pro Bowler. The sides remain at an impasse regarding extension talks, so interest on the trade front will no doubt continue until and unless an agreement is reached. Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated notes a number of issues (including overall value and guarantees) are yet to be resolved in McLaurin’s case. That differs from, for instance, the case of Trey Hendrickson and the Bengals. The AAV of a new Cincinnati agreement appears to have been hammered out, but the sides are at an impasse with respect to guaranteeing more than the first year of any new pact. It remains to be seen general manager Adam Peters and the Commanders will be willing to reach or surpass $30M per year on a long-term contract. While remarking on the situation, one general manager told Russini they liken this case to that of Haason Reddick from last year. Reddick engaged in lengthy holdout with the Jets while seeking an extension following his trade from the Eagles. In the end, a short-term compromise was made but Reddick’s debut was delayed until Week 8 and he departed in free agency after an underwhelming campaign. Any similar absence through the regular season — something which, to be clear, McLaurin has not yet threatened — would of course be highly detrimental to a Commanders team aiming to duplicate last year’s run to the NFC title game. During a Friday appearance on the "Rich Eisen Show" (video link), NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero said a trade cannot completely be ruled out at this point. The Patriots are known to be a potential suitor in the event Peters’ approach changes and consideration is given to a swap. Such a move would leave Washington with trade acquisition (and pending 2026 free agent) Deebo Samuel atop the WR depth chart. However, the Commanders have a star quarterback on a rookie contract, opening up a clear competitive window for them to build around Jayden Daniels before he commands a market-level salary. That would seem to include investing in a perennial thousand-yard threat like McLaurin — who already has an impressive rapport with his young QB. Coming to an agreement with the soon-to-be 30-year-old feels like an inevitability, whether it be before Week 1 or partway into the regular season.
How to watch the Detroit Tigers vs. the Philadelphia Phillies: First pitch, TV & streaming details for tonight
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Lions must avoid nightmare scenario with Aidan Hutchinson after Micah Parsons news
The Detroit Lions are officially on the clock. Again. The NFL has landed its next star-headlined holdout, with Micah Parsons taking to social media on Friday to officially request a trade from the Dallas Cowboys. The request comes after, according to Parsons, Dallas continually tried to negotiate a new deal with the star pass rusher without his agent present. Dallas has already signalled they're not sending him anywhere, anytime soon. This is just the latest perfect example for the Lions to not follow as it pertains to future negotiations with their star pass rusher, Aidan Hutchinson. Hutchinson hasn't received an extension on his current deal which extends into 2026. He's clearly due for a massive pay day, evidenced by the Lions potentially being okay with letting Alex Anzalone walk next year in order to make it happen. But, they must make it happen - or else, they run the risk of looking like the Jerry Jones run Cowboys in a season. Lions must avoid Hutchinson disaster after latest Micah Parsons developments General manager Brad Holmes has to pay a hefty price to keep Hutchinson around, and the defender sounds primed to have a season so undeniably elite that he'll need a deal akin to that received by T.J. Watt of the Pittsburgh Steelers or Myles Garrett of the Cleveland Browns. He's been lighting it up in training camp, appears even better than he did to start the 2024 season, and isn't afraid of contact on his leg that suffered a break last season. Detroit has a ton of cap flexibility, which makes their situation a bit more unique compared to that of the Browns, for example. They're working with $48 million in cap room for this season, per Over the Cap, so they could get something done with the pass rusher this season. The issue, however, lies with 2026 and beyond. READ MORE: This Lions-Cowboys trade finally brings Micah Parsons to Detroit However, Detroit is projected to be in the red against the cap to the tune of $43.3 million. That's thanks to a whopping $55 million due to Jared Goff beginning next year, $27.5 million due to Amon-Ra St. Brown, and $19 million due to both Hutchinson and tackle Penei Sewell. Major roster decisions regarding free agents that might demand a hefty price tag to stick around with the team seem imminent if Holmes and the Lions are bent on retaining Hutchinson. Whatever it takes to make sure Hutchinson doesn't become the next Parsons, or Watt, or Garrett, should be of the highest priority for this front office, though. With concerns about his ability to bounce back from his 2024 injury beginning to fade with each passing day in training camp, it's becoming clearer that Detroit has to avoid a high profile contract dispute - a trend, it seems, becoming exclusive to pass rushers. More Lions news and analysis
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