UFC 293 event was headlined by a middleweight title fight featuring Israel Adesanya taking on challenger Sean Strickland.
Israel Adesanya (24-3 MMA) was returning to action for the first time since reclaiming the UFC middleweight championship with a second-round knockout victory over longtime rival Alex Pereira this past April. ‘Stylebender’ had gone 4-2 over his previous six Octagon appearances, suffering losses to ‘Poatan‘ and Jan Blachowicz, while earning decision wins over Marvin Vettori, Robert Whittaker and Jared Cannonier.
Meanwhile, Sean Strickland (28-5 MMA) had entered his first career UFC title bout sporting a two-fight winning streak, his most recent being a TKO victory over Abusupiyan Magomedov back in July. Prior to that, the brash American had earned a unanimous decision victory over Nassourdine Imavov in January of this year.
UFC 293 main event proved to be one-way traffic for Sean Strickland. The American was able to get the better of Israel Adesanya in four rounds of their five-round affair, even dropping ‘Stylebender’ during the late stages of the opening frame. It was a tremendous performance from Strickland, one which drew the admiration of most of his peers.
Official UFC 293 Result: Sean Strickland def. Israel Adesanya by unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 49-46)
Check out how the pros reacted to ‘Israel Adesanya vs. Sean Strickland’ below:
Post-fight reactions to Sean Strickland defeating Israel Adesanya for the middleweight title at UFC 293:
Who would you like to see Sean Strickland fight next following his victory over Israel Adesanya this evening in Sydney?