Sean Strickland’s stunning victory against Israel Adesanya to win the middleweight championship brought a shocking conclusion to UFC 293. Alexander Volkov and Manel Kape started out on an exciting road thanks to some outstanding performances on the main card before that. Following the night’s most significant events, Brett Okamoto, Marc Raimondi, and Jeff Wagenheim respond.
For him, everything was prepared by Israel Adesanya. Just a short flight away from his home in Auckland, New Zealand, he was battling in Sydney. Since taking home the middleweight UFC title in 2019, Adesanya has never competed in Australia. He performed masterfully back then, both inside the cage and during a daringly orchestrated exit. He had returned and was once again prepared to amuse the followers in his region of the globe.
However, on Saturday, Sean Strickland made the UFC 293 main event into his show by pounding and submitting Adesanya for five rounds to win a unanimous decision and, in a real stunner, claim the 185-pound title.
Adesanya’s presentation was the idea behind this event at Qudos Bank Arena. After Dricus Du Plessis, who two months ago overcame former champion Robert Whittaker to become the top-ranked 185-pound challenger, was unable to make this date, Strickland was scheduled as a Plan B opponent for the championship battle. Only two consecutive victories separated Strickland from the bottom of the middleweight standings. None of the top five opponents that the American had defeated were included on his resume.
Even as a 5-1 betting underdog, Strickland was ready and determined to play Adesanya’s opposite. Fighting methodically and unafraid of being struck, Strickland is a fighter. Adesanya’s specialty is hitting, after all.
Adesanya, however, was the victim of a strike on this particular evening. The worst of it happened at the end of Round 1, when Strickland downed the champion with a straight right hand and then pounced with a barrage of left-handed haymakers on the floor. The champion took significantly more punishment than he gave out for the remainder of the fight, despite the fact that Adesanya made it to the final whistle and even seemed to have won the second round on the scorecards.
Just 34% of Adesanya’s attempts were successful. Strickland wasn’t exactly difficult to locate, either. The champion was unable to stop the challenger’s advances; they just continued going ahead.
In the 25 minutes of the battle, how many miles did Strickland travel? Calculating that is challenging. There is, however, one thing that is certain: none of those steps were backward. As the last seconds of Round 5 ticked away, Strickland spotted the opportunity and began speaking to Adesanya as he led the champion down. He had worn out his opponent. Strickland lifted his arms in celebration as the horn sounded.
Strickland began to cry after hearing the judges’ scores, which were 49-46 for the contest. The gold belt hung around his waist, and he covered his face. As the audience erupted, Adesanya lifted the arm of his victor. It happened for a split second.
The UFC faces a new obstacle thanks to Strickland, however. He is not just a long way from the dominating champions of the UFC’s past, but Strickland actively courted controversy with his remarks that were racist, homophobic, and sexist. Concerns about such statements have so far been brushed off by Dana White, but the UFC is finding it harder to do so after Adesanya’s victory.
Demetrious Johnson defended the men’s flyweight championship 11 times in a row; Anderson Silva stopped 10 middleweight opponents in a row; and Georges St-Pierre dispatched nine welterweight challengers in succession. Those days are long gone.
It’s uncommon these days for a UFC champion to have a long reign. Since winning the featherweight division five times, Alexander Volkanovski is the only current champion to have successfully defended his title more than once. Jon Jones, the current heavyweight champion, made eight defenses throughout his first light heavyweight reign and seven during his second. The only UFC champion who won their title before last year is Volkanovski.
Take into consideration the recent five-month volatility in the championship picture. Aljamain Sterling lost his men’s bantamweight championship to Sean O’Malley at UFC 292 three weeks ago. Unusually, there were no championship fights at UFC 291 (pay-per-view). What kind of dominance does it represent that the BMF belt was on the line? Brandon Moreno was deposed at men’s flyweight at UFC 290 in early July by Alexandre Pantoja. At UFC 288, Amanda Nunes effectively defended her bantamweight title. However, she later announced her retirement, leaving two women’s championships unfilled. At UFC 288, Sterling kept his title, but he was losing ground to his rivals. Adesanya reclaimed his champion status at UFC 287 in April, but it would soon be taken away from him once again. Another title also changed hands at that event.
Running for the UFC title has changed from being a marathon to a sprint. Five of the previous seven UFC pay-per-views saw title exchanges or champions leaving their belts behind in different ways. There are three empty top positions in the company’s 12 weight divisions. No champions have ever defended their titles.
Today, a journeyman boxer holds the middleweight division’s championship. Prior to this night, Strickland had a 2-2 record in his last four matches. However, it is impossible to dispute his success. Adesanya’s native country was reached by him after a lengthy journey, and he earned the belt impartially. Additionally, Strickland was among the biggest underdogs to ever win the UFC championship.
If the present trend continues, will Strickland’s reign as leader be short-lived, or will he have lasting power? And will he advance the sport under his rule, for however long it lasts? I’m about to learn the answer.
