UFC 293 Results: Sean Strickland Pulls Off Massive Upset Over Israel Adesanya

Things didn’t go as planned for Israel Adesanya on Saturday night in his second home of Australia at UFC 293.

In the main event at Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, Australia, Sean Strickland pulled off the biggest upset in UFC middleweight history, and one of the largest in the history of the promotion.

Strickland shook off +450 odds to dethrone Adesanya via unanimous decision (49-46×3), and there was no controversy.

Strickland dropped Adesanya in the first round with a right hand. After the right hand momentarily floored Adesanya, Strickland pummeled him with more shots before the stunned future Hall-of-Famer was able to escape the onslaught.

Quite honestly, the referee could have called an end to the bout during the barrage, but he gave Adesanya the benefit of the doubt and allowed him to continue.

Even with the second chance, Adesanya couldn’t find an answer for Strickland’s stripped-down, but brilliant gameplan. The challenger utilized his Philly Shell approach and leaned heavily on well-timed 1-2 punch combinations to find their mark. He rode this strategy for five rounds and to a world title.

Adesanya might have taken the second round, but Strickland walked him down for the entirety of the fight and the punches he landed led to noticeable swelling and a bloody nose for his opponent.

Adesanya looked completely unprepared for Strickland’s attack and his defensive approach. Strickland kept Adesanya on his heels the entire fight, never seemingly providing him with the targets the latter is usually able to reveal in his opponents.

Many thought this fight would be a stepping stone for Adesanya before he stepped into a grudge match with Dricus Du Plessis. While an official word on next steps wasn’t available at the time of publishing, it would seem Adesanya might be in line for a rematch with Strickland–just as he was granted an immediate second shot at Alex Pereira after losing to him initially at UFC 281.

Unless Adesanya wants more time off or has an injury to rehab, a rematch with Strickland seems like the most logical next fight for both men.

Here is a look at all of the results from UFC 293 in Australia.

Main Card

Sean Strickland def. Israel Adesanya via unanimous decision (49-46×3)

Alexander Volkov def. Tai Tuivasa via second-round submission (Ezekiel Choke)

Manel Kape def. Felipe dos Santos via UD (30-27, 29-28 x2)

Justin Tafa def. Austen Lane via first-round TKO (1:22)

Tyson Pedro def. Anton Turkalj via first-round KO (2:12)

Prelims

• Carlos Ulberg def. Da Un Jung via third-round submission (Rear-Naked Choke) (R3, 4:49)
• Chepe Mariscal def. Jack Jenkins via second-round TKO (3:19) (elbow injury)
• Jamie Mullarkey def. John Makdessi via UD (29-28 x3)
• Nasrat Haqparast def. Landon Quinones via UD (30-27 x3)

Early Prelims

• Charlie Radtke def. Blood Diamond via UD (29-27 x3)
• Gabriel Miranda def. Shane Young via first-round submission (Rear-Naked Choke) – Round 1, 0:59
• Kevin Jousset def. Kiefer Crosbie via first-round submission (Rear-Naked Choke) – Round 1, 4:49

UFC 293: Adesanya vs. Strickland took place Sept. 9 at the Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, Australia. UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya (24-3) kicked off his second title reign by facing Sean Strickland (28-5) in the night’s main event, which aired live on ESPN+.

Strickland soundly outstruck Adesanya over five rounds to claim the belt with unanimous – you read that right, unanimous – scorecards of 49-46. It was another seismic upheaval in an octagon that’s seen so many of them in the past two years. Strickland was a backup for Dricus du Plessis, who was forced to back out of UFC 293 due to injury, and the brash American went on to shock the world.