But at Tuesday’s media day inside the Hilton Sydney, the man with nothing to lose was cracking jokes.

Dressed down in thongs, jeans, and a white tee with ‘Cancel Me’ writ large across the front, Strickland started proceedings largely, and loudly, by going rogue on several journalists for their haircuts, dress sense, all of it.

Questioned by one media member sat front row with several piercings, the American cackled: “Oh, this guy … man, is your d**k pierced?”

Told it wasn’t, Strickland went again anyway, saying: “Yes it is you dirty motherf***er, yes it is.”

Unsurprisingly, the fighter also used his almost 20 minutes on the microphone to take shots at Adesanya – particularly for once claiming he was Chinese while fighting regularly in the country as a kickboxer

Importantly though, and despite being a $5 TAB outsider, the fighter who has won eight of his past 10 UFC appearances stressed the same energy would be there in the Octagon come Sunday.

“And here’s the thing that makes me laugh,” Strickland said.

“I can go train with a world champion boxer, the best kickboxer, and I’ll f***ing put hands on them.

“But I run my mouth so much that people forget I can fight.”

MORE

Where’s Sean? UFC headliner goes AWOL for key event in puzzling $16m snub

Bullied kid vs ‘white trash’: New doco shows real Izzy as clash of UFC personalities set to explode

So as for how he beats the reigning UFC king?

While Strickland is expected to wrestle against Adesanya this Sunday, he was also tipped to do the same when he also fought Alex Pereira in July last year – but instead stood with the famed kickboxer and got iced in round one.

“So I’ve been wrestling my ass off,” the challenger said when quizzed on how he beats The last Stylebender.

“But I was also wrestling before Alex.

“Problem is man, you get in there and your d*** gets a little bit hard and next thing you know you’re in a boxing match.

“So I’m gunna try and be the complete MMA fighter, but no promises.”

Later, Strickland continued: “Here’s the thing about Izzy, man, the f***ing Chinese whore.

“You fight a guy like that, little twinkle toes, running around, dancing around it’s hard to shoot.

“You have to go nose to nose, d*** to d*** and make it a war.

“Cut off the ring, take some jabs, take some blood, give a little bit to the Gods.”

Adesanya, meanwhile, predicted carnage if that is to happen.

While UFC heavyweight Tai Tuivasa predicted the result would be “Death by Israel”, the man himself is backing a KO but hopeful of a submission.

“He did say he’s a better striker than me and I welcome him to try,” the New Zealander said.

“But I think his team is too smart, I think he’s going to wrestle.

“And I’ve got something for his ass. Me and my buddy Craig Jones have been hanging out – a lot.

“We have been training.

“I’ve also been doing this a long time and I’m yet to choke a mother****er out. So that’s one thing on my list.”

But as for what happens?

“I’m going to knock out Sean Strickland,” he deadpanned. “I know I’m going to finish him.

“I don’t want to knock him out though, if that makes sense, I would rather submit him.

“But with what we’ve worked on, with his ego, his brain, which is just a peanut … yeah, one plus one is two, water is wet and Sean Strickland is getting slept.”

Regardless, the Las Vegas fighter dubbed ‘Tarzan’ reckons, despite punching an Adesanya fan on the streets of Bondi Junction over the weekend, it will be him who receives the biggest pop when walking out before a sold out Qudos Bank Arena.

“You think Australians want the Chinaman to win?” he shrugged. “They don’t want him to win.

“Everyone hates Izzy. He’s a f***ing cringe lord.”

Then, just as quickly, the American was back swinging at press row.

“Did you grow a beard man?” he said to one journalist working from behind his video camera. “You look more masculine.

“Are there any women in here?

“He looks a little better … like you’ve got some hair on your nuts now.”

Strickland also responded to suggestions that he was appearing fairly, err, normal on this week’s UFC Embedded program – where he has been shown visiting the Opera House, the Botanic Gardens, even Blue Mountains with his girlfriend.

“I’m a soft mother****er you guys,” he cackled.

“My girl will go away for a week and you’ll find me in my apartment looking around at my furniture, my bedframe, cleaning my guns like a weirdo saying ‘Who am I? Why do I have all this s***?’

“I don’t even recognise myself.

“So here’s the thing guys, women are the glue to society.

“They don’t need to work, they need to stay home and raise kids because they’re the glue to society.

“Right now, if all the women were to vanish off the face of this earth I would eat you mother****ers.

“I would go straight cannibalism.

“You take all the women out, I might just put a hole in my head.

“What’s the point?

“No p***y, I got to make my own food, fold my own laundry, what’s the point?”

Pushed on his relationship, Strickland continued: “If you ever met my girl you’d be like ‘what the f*** are you doing?’.

“She has two degrees, east coast girl … but I don’t tag her in anything or put her in my interviews, I hide her away.

“As far as she knows I have a double life.”

About the only other person Strickland had no bad words for was fellow contender Jared Cannonier, who he lost to via split decision last December and has now been flown Down Under this week as a back-up for the main event.

“Jared is a good f***ing guy,” he said.

“He’s a good husband, good father, how can you not like that guy? Solid mother***er.

“I don’t really want to fight Jared, I like Jared and there is no desire in me to hurt him.

“Have you met him? Nice f***ing guy.

“He wouldn’t be making fun of d*** piercing over here.”