Israel Adesanya Seeks to Silence Sean Strickland; UFC 293 Live Updates

Strickland Defeats Adesanya at UFC 293

Sean Strickland was not even supposed to fight at UFC 293.

The next opponent for Israel Adesanya was supposed to be Dricus du Plessis. Yet that fight never materialized, and now it may never happen. After Du Plessis turned down the fight, Strickland stepped in for the title bout. And now he is wearing championship gold.

Strickland (28-5) won four of the five rounds against Adesanya, a shocking result for the colossal underdog. But after landing a clean right hand in the final minute of the opening round, Strickland was flat out better than Adesanya.

.@SStricklandMMA at a loss for words after becoming the undisputed champ 👏 #UFC293 pic.twitter.com/K52vxmLsL1
— UFC (@ufc) September 10, 2023

Surprisingly, this is the second loss in the last three fights for Adesanya (24-3). Du Plessis has to be regretting the decision not to take this bout, as Adesanya looked beatable. He never landed a clean shot on Strickland, who was the aggressor in all five rounds. Strickland was also patient in his persistent approach, his defense was superb, and throughout 25 minutes, he never made one mistake.

All the biggest shots of the fight belonged to Strickland. He hit his jab consistently, then followed it up with a power shot. His offense threw Adesanya out of sync, but this performance was also the first time that Adesanya looked past his prime.

This was the eleventh consecutive title fight for Adesanya, a remarkable run. Now 34, Adesanya was a step behind the entire fight, and his legendary elusiveness was never even the slightest factor in this bout. Strickland’s disciplined approach paid dividends, and Adesanya simply had no answer for him.

This is, by far, the upset of the year. Prepare for the impending apocalypse if you’d like, because Sean Strickland is the new UFC middleweight champion.

Sean Strickland shocks Israel Adesanya

In one of the greatest upsets in UFC history, Sean Strickland defeated Israel Adesanya to win the middleweight title.

To say this was unexpected is an understatement. But Strickland pressured Adesanya, forcing one of the greatest ever to fight off his back foot for the majority of the bout. Through five rounds, Adesanya could not land a clean shot.

Strickland landed a clean right hand in the final minute of the first round, then exploded with a flurry of shots that nearly ended the fight. Adesanya was given space by referee Marc Goddard (the kind Aljamain Sterling was not afforded in his loss to Sean O’Malley). But Adesanya survived, the round ended, and he quickly composed himself. But the knockdown was a real shock, and it looked like a massive upset was moments away from taking place.

In the second round, Adesanya began to time out Strickland’s attack. He decisively won the round, and even though Strickland had success with his jab, he did not use it nearly enough. So, despite that stunning first round, Adesanya and Strickland entered the third with a round each. Strickland was able to land with just under two minutes left, and he also connected with a strong left hook. Adesanya landed more in the third (20-14), but Strickland delivered the most impactful shots.

The fourth round was tight, but Adesanya landed enough shots to just edge Strickland. But it was incredibly close. Strickland, to his credit, pressured Adesanya, and he was the one who dictated the pace.

Adesanya understood the urgency of the moment in the fifth. His mix of leg kicks and jabs kept him in the fight, but Strickland was able to land the jab and occasional right hand. Strickland completely beat up Adesanya’s face, forcing him onto the back foot throughout the majority of the fight.

This was not the expected outcome, but Adesanya (24-3) has now lost two of his last three fights. Strickland (28-5) has now won three in a row, with this bout representing the most significant of his life.

Volkov forces Tuivasa to tap

Tai Tuivasa’s losing streak has hit three.

Alexander Volkov forced Tuivasa to tap out to an Ezekiel choke in the UFC 293 co-main event, which marks his third straight victory.

Volkov dominated the opening round, and he was piecing Tuivasa apart as the round ended. Volkov landed 71 significant strikes to Tuivasa’s 18. But for all the punishment Tuivasa took, he mangled Volkov’s lead leg. That leg was absolutely beat, but to Volkov’s credit, he began to kick Tuivasa’s kicks.

Volkov took and maintained full mount for nearly the final two minutes of the second round. He landed some beautiful ground-and-pound before getting Tuivasa to tap.

It is a devastating loss for Tuivasa (14-6). He is turning into a heavyweight gatekeeper, not the role he would like to play. Volkov (36-10) has now won 11 of his 15 fights in the Octagon. While there is still quite a distance between him and Jon Jones or Stipe Miocic, the winning streak builds momentum for a potential bout against Sergei Pavlovich.

Manel Kape fighting for a shot at Kai Kara-France

In a very competitive bout, Manel Kape defeated Felipe dos Santos by unanimous decision.

Kape (19-6) won his fourth straight fight by handing Dos Santos (7-1) his first loss. There were also some fireworks after the decision was announced, as a frustrated Kape voiced his frustration that he cannot get top-five flyweights to fight him. He singled out Kai Kara-France, who he was supposed to meet at 293 until a concussion prevented that from happening. Unfortunately, Kape also used an anti-LGBT slur toward Kara-France, which happened less than an hour after Charlie Radtke (who won on the early prelims) had tweeted an apology for using the same slur.

Only 22, Dos Santos acquitted himself especially well in his UFC debut. In the opening round, he landed a couple different flurries of shots on Kape, and remained constantly active against the former Rizin world champ.

Speed was a massive factor in the second round, allowing Kape to land repeated body shots and combinations. Somehow, Dos Santos absorbed all of that damage.

The third round saw Kape continue to land body shots. Dos Santos weakened Kape’s legs with a shot to the face that busted him open. Incredibly, in his UFC debut, Dos Santos was able to stick with one of the best flyweights in the world, likely earning himself another fight. But Kape was better, and the judges were right to score this in his favor.

Kara-France appears next for Kape, and that bout will have more attention because of the post-fight encounter.

Justin Tafa shrugs off eye poke, lands vicious blow

For the second straight fight, Austen Lane poked Justin Tafa in the eye.

Their first bout in June ended in a no contest after Tafa was unable to continue. But it was altogether different at UFC 293, as Tafa shrugged off the eye poke. He then drilled Lane with an overhand left before finishing the fight with vicious ground-and-pound.

Tafa (7-3, 1 NC) is the second straight Australian fighter to emerge victorious on the main card. His TKO victory against Lane (12-4, 1 NC) unfolded in only 82 seconds, which also marked the second fight to end in the opening round.

While the win is unlikely to elevate Tafa into the heavyweight rankings, it does put him in position to face someone from the top 15.

Tyson Pedro knocks out Anton Turkalj

Tyson Pedro used the jab to set up the knockout.

Pedro knocked out Anton Turkalj in the opening round, adding some excitement to the opening bout of the main card in front of his hometown crowd in Sydney, Australia.

Pedro (10-4) stunned Turkalj with his right hand, then used the jab to set up the knockout blow. Turkalj (8-3) was in this position to be fodder for Pedro, and that is exactly what took place.

This was never in doubt. Just over two minutes into the first round, Pedro finished Turkalj, who had no business being part of a UFC pay-per-view card.

For the first time since UFC 1 in 1993, a female broadcaster joins the UFC pay-per-view commentary team.

Laura Sanko is beside Jon Anik and Daniel Cormier for the UFC 293 broadcast team, becoming the first woman to add commentary to a pay-per-view since Kathy Long did so three decades ago.

“I am really excited to get the chance to work with Laura on a pay-per-view,” Anik told Sports Illustrated. “I believe she is already one of our finer grappling analysts, and she has absolutely earned this opportunity. She’s a huge asset to MMA and as her friend and colleague, I’m proud of her effort to realize this dream.”

The pay-per-view has just started, and the opening bout is set to be Tyson Pedro against Anton Turkalj in a light heavyweight bout.

Sean Strickland has been running his mouth nonstop all week.

Israel Adesanya now looks to put an end to that.

The middleweight title bout is the centerpiece of UFC 293 in Sydney, Australia, with Adesanya making the first defense of his second title reign against Strickland. It feels like a foregone conclusion that Adesanya will win, but the underrated, often overlooked Strickland has quietly found a way to win eight of his last ten fights. None of those victories, however, were against anyone anywhere close to the same level as Adesanya.

The 293 card also features Tai Tuivasa returning home to face Alexander Volkov. Back in a familiar spot as underdog, the crowd will be ready to explode if and when Tuivasa lands a knockout blow.

But the focus is on the main event. This should be a celebration for Adesanya, who will have the crowd fully behind him.

Stay tuned all night for updates from UFC 293.