Adesanya was a huge favourite in his UFC 293 world title fight against Strickland, but the underdog prevailed by winning a shocking decision to become the new middleweight champion
Sean Strickland produced a massive upset down under by winning a unanimous decision against Israel Adesanya to become the new UFC middleweight champion.
Top contender Strickland was a massive underdog heading into his UFC 293 fight in Australia against Adesanya, but he defied the odds by winning a relatively one-sided decision to capture his first world title. Strickland started the fight cautiously but quickly found his groove by dropping Adesanya with a perfectly placed right hand as âThe Last Stylebender’ was saved by the bell.
Adesanya seemed to have recovered at the start of the second record and was doing a good job of evening the score after a dominant opening round from Strickland. A stern warning from Strickland’s corner before the third round seemed to spur him on as he put together some good combinations off of his jab. Adesanya was down on the scorecards heading into the championship rounds but it was Strickland who showed more urgency as the Nigerian-born Kiwi struggled to land shots at range.
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