Sean Strickland claims middleweight title with stunning upset over Israel Adesanya in UFC 293 main event
Sean Strickland wasn’t even supposed to fight at UFC 293 and now he’s standing tall as the new middleweight champion following a stunning performance to beat Israel Adesanya in the main event
The opportunity came after Dricus Du Plessis suffered a foot injury that prevented him from competing in September so the always outspoken Strickland took his place where he was supposed to be a sacrificial lamb as he entered the fight as a massive underdog. What resulted was nearly flawless execution with Strickland dropping Adesanya in the first round and then continuing to chip away at him throughout all 25 minutes before earning the unanimous decision victory.
When it was over, all three judges scored the fight 49-46 with Strickland crowned the new UFC middleweight champion.
“Am I f****** dreaming?” Strickland said following the win. “Never in a million years would I thought I’d be here. Izzy’s a bad motherf*****. He’s beat the majority of my friends and even I was kind of doubting myself at times.
“I worked my ass off. I give up so many brain cells to the MMA gods everyday. This is the first time I’m at a loss for words.”
Despite the odds against him, Strickland never once looked overmatched or outgunned by Adesanya and that confidence paid huge dividends throughout the fight.
In typical fashion, Strickland was in pursuit from the first second the fight started with Adesanya happy to sit back and circle around the cage while looking to set up his counter strikes. Adesanya kept tossing out his punches without much fear of reprisal but that changed in dramatic fashion after Strickland bullied him against the cage before unloading a monstrous right hand.
As soon as the punch connected, Adesanya crumbled to the canvas and Strickland swarmed with a barrage of shots as he attempted to get the finish. Adesanya covered up and eventually got back to the feet but Strickland appeared just seconds away from becoming UFC champion before the first round came to a close.
The one minute rest period and restart in the second allowed Adesanya to properly reset and this time his strategy started working as he got Strickland’s timing down before launching his combinations. Adesanya clubbed Strickland with a stiff overhand right and then tagged him with another one a moment later.
It appeared momentarily like Adesanya survived a scare and he was ready to mount a comeback but Strickland snuffed out those plans while displaying defense that continued to frustrate “The Last Stylebender” during almost every exchange.
Add to that, Adesanya was somewhat busier offensively but it was Strickland who hit him with the better, harder shots that really made a difference in the exchanges.
Again and again, Strickland just marched forward coming after Adesanya as he kept tossing out a well-timed lead jab and then following with a big hook behind it. Swelling also started forming under Adesanya’s right eye, which showed the accumulated damage that Strickland was inflicting.
With five minutes remaining, Adesanya struggled to really break through Strickland’s defense, which was giving him headaches all night long. In return, Strickland just kept ducking and dodging before throwing out that same lead jab with his left and a hard right behind it.
The pace from Strickland was also relentless and he just continued chipping away with Adesanya having no answers before the final horn sounded. It was a jaw-dropping outing from Strickland as he surprised Adesanya and just about everyone else in the world by becoming the new UFC middleweight champion.
As for Adesanya, his second title reign comes to an end just one fight after he reclaimed the belt back in April. It will be interesting to see what he does next but for now he’ll have to stare up at the throne with Strickland as the new king at 185 pounds.