Sean Strickland drops Israel Adesanya on way to shocking UFC title win

10 September 2023 , 04:34

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Sean Strickland is the new UFC middleweight champion after beating Israel Adesanya

Sean Strickland produced a massive upset down under by winning a unanimous decision against Israel Adesanya to become the new UFC middleweight champion.

Top contender Strickland was a massive underdog heading into his UFC 293 fight in Australia against Adesanya, but he defied the odds by winning a relatively one-sided decision to capture his first world title. Strickland started the fight cautiously but quickly found his groove by dropping Adesanya with a perfectly placed right hand as ‘The Last Stylebender’ was saved by the bell.

Adesanya seemed to have recovered at the start of the second record and was doing a good job of evening the score after a dominant opening round from Strickland. A stern warning from Strickland’s corner before the third round seemed to spur him on as he put together some good combinations off of his jab. Adesanya was down on the scorecards heading into the championship rounds but it was Strickland who showed more urgency as the Nigerian-born Kiwi struggled to land shots at range.

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Adesanya needed a finish in the fifth round to retain his belt and he continued to fight on the backfoot, but to no avail as Strickland walked him down for the entire round. Strickland was talking to his rival in the final 30 seconds as all signs by pointed towards a new champion after the final bell and that proved true as all three judges’ scorecards read 49-46 in favour of Strickland.

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"Is this my f****ng dream, I am going to wake up? Somebody hit me, oh my god you guys," Strickland said after his win. "Never in a million years did I think I would be here. I don't cry much but I'm trying to keep my s*** together right now. I gave up so many brain cells to the MMA gods every day. The gold around my waist don't mean s***. How you live your life means more."

Sean Strickland (left) won a unanimous decision against Israel Adesanya

Adesanya congratulated Strickland on his win despite their bad blood before the fight, but he didn't stick around in the cage for a post-fight interview after his defeat. Strickland could either make the defence of his middleweight belt in a rematch against Adesanya or against top contender Dricus Du Plessis, who was originally linked to face the now-former champion at UFC 293.

Elsewhere at the Sydney event, Alexander Volkov tapped out hometown favourite Tai Tuivasa in the second round with a rarely-seen ezekial choke. Flyweight prospect Manel Kape won a decision against Felipe dos Santos whilst there were knockout wins for both Justin Tafa and Tyson Pedro on the main card.

Harry Davies