In reality, Adesanya always loved to fight contenders in a short notice, not the first time. Opponents almost never had a fair shake. Dricus was right in denying the fight and the fact is, for the first time and the worst way possible, beating contenders in a short notice backfired badly: lost to a guy that he should never ever lose, took a knockdown, got exposed by his dog fetish in interviews and etc.
I mean, he is just hiding in shame, almost every single MMA fan knows about those things and he can't show up on TV or crowded interviews anymore. Strickland beat him way before the fight when he started exposing the guy for who he really is. That's what matters most, his fabricated image is shattered, not the octagon defeat itself. Hard thing to erase from people's minds. But to each their own, he did all that, so now it's time to accept karma.