Strickland has done the unthinkable.
Israel Adesanya and Sean Strickland shared the Octagon to wrap up UFC 293.
Adesanya put the middleweight gold up for grabs inside the Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, Australia. “The Last Stylebender” was initially expected to meet Dricus du Plessis, but DDP was unable to heal in time from an injury. As a result, Strickland filled in for the title fight.
Adesanya threw out some kicks early on to keep Strickland at bay. Strickland caught the leg of “Izzy,” but couldn’t do anything with it. Adesanya was able to negate the jab of Strickland. Some more leg kicks landed for Adesanya. A right hand connected for Strickland. Adesanya continued to kick the lead leg of his opponent. Near the end of the round, Strickland dropped Adesanya with a right hand. “Izzy” survived the round.
Adesanya continued throwing out kicks to start the second stanza. Strickland checked a low kick. Adesanya went for a crescent kick. A right hand landed for “Izzy.” Another leg kick was thrown by Adesanya later on, but this time he landed it. A big right hand landed for Adesanya. Strickland landed a jab. This was a much better round for Adesanya.
Adesanya continued to throw kicks, but Strickland did a good job swaying away in round three. Adesanya landed a right punch. “Izzy” missed a head kick. A left hand got through for Strickland. The more effective punches were on Strickland’s side.
A body kick was there for Adesanya. It was answered by a right hand from Strickland. A big left hand was there for Strickland and he followed it up with a right hand. Strickland was being effective at making Adesanya miss. A combination was there for Strickland, who was landing the heavier punches. A switch right hand connected for Adesanya.
A leg kick connected for Adesanya early in the final round. He turned up the heat, landing a body kick. “Izzy” threw a hard right land, but it only touched the arm of Strickland. Strickland continued to walk down his opponent. A right hand was there for Adesanya, but it was answered with a jab from Strickland. A clean right hand caught Adesanya. Strickland was relentless in his striking and talked trash to Adesanya near the end of the fight.
The fight went the distance and all three judges scored the fight for Sean Strickland. He is the new UFC middleweight champion.
