UFC 293 Main Event star Sean Strickland goes AWOL in Sydney days before Israel Adesanya clash – fueling conspiracy theory he is being silenced
- Strickland a no-show at Welcome to Country
- There are rumors that the polarizing star was not invited
- Fighter has a history of controversial comments
Controversial MMA star Sean Strickland failed to show up at Welcome to Country in Barangaroo on Tuesday, fueling a conspiracy theory that the outspoken star is being silenced.
Strickland is gearing up to take on UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya next Sunday at a sold-out Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney.
The polarizing American, who is an ex-white supremacist and has made controversial statements about women and race, may not have even received an invite to the event.
Rumors have it that the NSW government didn’t want Strickland to embarrass them after she spent $16 million on MMA in the state over the next three years.
Adesanya recently stated that convincing was needed from the top of the UFC for the fight to even take place due to concerns about what Strickland might say.
Polarizing UFC star Sean Strickland was absent from Welcome to Country on Tuesday
Adesanya said UFC top stars needed persuasion for the fight to even happen
‘The Last Stylebender’ was Tuesday morning at the traditional ceremony, which was hosted by Gadigal native elder Brendan Kerin at the Barangaroo Reserve in central Sydney.
He then took to Twitter to acknowledge Strickland’s absence, writing, “When do I get to see my mate.”
Strickland landed in Sydney earlier this week and gave a positive review of the city during a UFC 293 Embedded vlog.
“So I talk about Australia a lot because it’s kind of weird, you’re all descendants of convicts, and yet you have a really nice city,” Strickland said.
“How the hell did that happen?”
A while later, he took to Twitter to give fans more of his thoughts on the port city.
“I’m in Sydney and I thought I’d be surrounded by dirty liberals,” he wrote.
“Gay and trans flags everywhere… Literally zero… maybe America is the problem, lmao!”
Strickland’s outrageous tirades and insults are attracting a lot of attention – and it’s been theorized that he’s being kept out of the spotlight in Sydney as a result
Strickland has had a string of impressive performances in the Octagon ahead of his clash with Israel Adesanya
It’s almost impossible to predict what will come out of the American’s mouth, although you can guess with some certainty that it will be controversial or offensive.
Some see him as a reprehensible character who gives oxygen to hateful worldviews, others as a prankster and swindler who deliberately makes money off his provocation without actually believing what he says.
Adesanya has called Strickland an “idiot” and explained how lucky he is to even be able to fight for the middleweight belt in Sydney.
“He should be thanking me for actually making the fight happen because without me he wouldn’t have really gotten the fight,” he said.
“I pushed for him to take the fight because he was the next logical guy.
“I’ve beaten all the top five – some twice – so you can’t punish us because we’re great, so yeah, I pushed for him to take the fight.
‘He’s an idiot. I can’t say too much about that. He’s an idiot, so he just needs to behave and actually show up and just fight.”