Already in the first round of the fight, which headlined UFC 293 in Sydney, the challenger in his trademark style went forward, and Adesanya agreed to work as a number two, actively moving and not allowing his opponent to shorten the distance. However, at the end of the first round, Strickland’s pressure paid off as the American caught the Nigerian with a right jab and knocked him down, but was unable to finish the champion, allowing him to return to the fight and wait for the break.
The next two five-minute rounds were evenly matched as Strickland continued to press, working his opponent’s body with front kicks and trying to lock him up at the net, while Adesanya kept moving and firing back with punches that mostly came on defense and didn’t do much damage to the challenger.
After listening to his corner pump up before the championship rounds, the American fighter picked up the pace, which immediately affected the pattern of the fight, as the tired champion began to miss more and more punches, and the Nigerian went into the final break with a broken nose and right eye beginning to swim.
Israel Adesanya blatantly avoided the fight for most of the final round, while Sean Strickland inexorably marched forward to the biggest win of his professional career, which he won 49-46 on all three judges’ scorecards to become the new UFC middleweight champion.
In the co-main event, Alexander Volkov earned his third straight victory with an early upset over Tai Tuivasa.
In the opening five minutes, the Russian successfully dismantled his opponent in the standup, moving around a lot and meeting the Australian hard when he tried to get close, but in the second round Tuivasa managed to slow down “Drago” with low kicks, and Volkov changed tactics – picking up his opponent’s attacking leg with his left hand, he simultaneously met him with a right kick, as a result of which “Bam Bam” lost his balance and ended up on the canvas.
After failing to keep his opponent in parterre the first time, in his second attempt Volkov took a dominant position in full mount and began to work his opponent with punches, and half a minute before the half-time bell, he forced Tuivasa to signal his surrender with an Ezekiel choke.
In a post-fight interview, the Russian heavyweight paid tribute to the Australian knockout artist, and also thanked his compatriot Alexey Oleinik, who taught him the hold that set the stage for this fight.
In the third most important event of the tournament, Manel Kape and the debutant of the organization Felipe dos Santos staged a bright battle on the counter courses, in which the representative of Angola took the upper hand, defeating the Brazilian by unanimous decision of the judges.
Other results included early wins for Justin Tough, Tyson Pedro, Carlos Ulberg, Jose Mariscal, Gabriel Miranda and Kevin Jussett.
All results from UFC 293.