UFC 293: Sean Strickland denounces jiu jitsu ahead of Israel Adesanya fight — ‘It’s bullsh*t, it doesn’t work’

UFC middleweight contender Sean Strickland insists jiu jitsu “doesn't work,” despite what happened during this training session.

In fact, “Tarzan” no longer has a Gi and keeps his black belt buried in the trunk of his car. Probably because he’ll need it for that “weird” desert rendezvous he’s got planned for UFC welterweight veteran Belal Muhammad.

“Yeah I got [a black belt] a while ago, it’s bullsh*t, it doesn’t work,” Strickland told Nina-Marie Daniele. “It doesn’t work you guys, jiu-jitsu doesn’t work. It don’t work. It’s in my trunk somewhere, I lost my Gi, I don’t wear it anymore.”

Grappling could prove to be his best chance against a striker like Israel Adesanya, a former kickboxer with 16 knockouts in 24 MMA wins. But Strickland admits he’s likely to be seduced by the thrill of the standup, which cost him a few brain cells against Alex Pereira.

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MASSIVE MIDDLEWEIGHT MATCH! Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) makes its highly anticipated return to Sydney, Australia, for the first time in five years on Sat., Sept. 9, 2023, with a 185-pound world title fight inside Qudos Bank Arena. In the ESPN+-streamed pay-per-view (PPV) main event, Middleweight roost-ruler, Israel Adesanya, plans to silence No. 5-seeded contender, Sean Strickland. In UFC 293’s hard-hitting Heavyweight co-main event, No-6-ranked fan favorite, Tai Tuivasa, locks horns with towering Russian, Alexander Volkov (No. 8).

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“I’ve been wrestling a lot in camp but sometimes you know, you get up there and you look at another man and I think to myself, I want to f*cking stand and bang with this guy,” Strickland continued. “So I probably should wrestle but that’s probably not going to happen. It’s not going to happen. But I should wrestle, I’ve been planning to wrestle.”

Strickland challenges Adesanya for the middleweight strap at UFC 293 in Sydney.

Remember that MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 293 fight card right here, starting with the early ESPN+ “Prelims” matches online, which are scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. ET, then the remaining undercard on ESPNN/ESPN+ at 8 p.m. ET, before the PPV main card start time at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN+ PPV.

To check out the latest and greatest UFC 293: “Adesanya vs. Strickalnd” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here.