“This fight wasn’t me.”

Title on the line or not, Israel Adesanya wants to set the record straight with Sean Strickland.

Adesanya (24-4 MMA, 13-4 UFC) shockingly lost his middleweight belt to Strickland in 2023 and has not been able to achieve it since. When the former champion got the opportunity to win his title in August, he had to face Dricus Du Plessis, having taken the belt from Strickland months earlier.

Now, in order to keep fighting after his failed attempt to recapture the title, Adesanya wants to get his hands on Strickland before it's all said and done.

“Strickland, definitely. This fight was not my thing,” Adesanya said on the JRE MMA Show. “Again, I'm not making excuses… (Dave Chappelle) said something like, 'When it's your time, you have to know it and be humble enough when it's someone else's.' This 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've taken his best shots and I just know I can compete with this guy. I know what I can do. Not comparable to the Pereira race I won, but this time I definitely know what I can do with this guy.”

Adesanya believes his best version surpasses Strickland's best version. He simply didn't show up when they met in 2023.

Strickland has not yet been officially signed up for a fight, but he is expected to face Du Plessis again next. Depending on the outcome, the potential rematch with Strickland could be very close or far away for Adesanya.

“We will see what happens with him and DDP,” Adesanya said. “He was able to win, beat him, it was close (the first time). That was a tough fight. We'll see. We'll see what happens in this fight. Listen, I like the feeling of not knowing because sometimes people ask, 'Who are you going to fight next?' When are you going to fight next?' I don't know. I'm just chilling. I’ll just keep training.”