Sean Strickland is the new UFC middleweight champion.
The 32-year-old dropped Israel Adesanya in round one before outpointing him over the next four frames to pick up a unanimous decision victory at UFC 293 on Sunday morning in Sydney, Australia.
MIXED MARTIAL ARTS LADIES AND GENTLEMEN. 😳
🏆 SEAN STRICKLAND HAS SHOCKED THE WORLD TO BECOME CHAMPION! #UFC293 pic.twitter.com/sKnUKMLNic
— UFC Europe (@UFCEurope) September 10, 2023
An uneventful first round burst into life with mere seconds left on the clock as Strickland landed a clean right hand to score an unlikely knockdown.
The American swarmed with a flurry of punches looking to secure an early upset win, but ‘Stylebender’ managed to survive and get back to his feet.
After getting a minute to recover in his corner, Adesanya appeared fine and full of confidence heading into round two of his fight against Strickland.
The former kickboxer slowed things down again and managed to outpoint his latest title challenger throughout the five-minute frame to level things up on the scorecards.
Strickland was told off by his coach for being “snake-charmed” by Adesanya after round two and he came out for the third frame determined to not let it happen again.
The champion caught him with clean right hands on several occasions, but Strickland frequently returned with eye-catching shots that left their fight hanging in the balance heading into the championship rounds.
‘Tarzan’ stepped things up a level in round four and enjoyed his most dominant few minutes of the fight as he pushed the favourite back and avoided his attacks.
Things were pretty much the same in the final frame. Despite the fact Adesanya knew he needed a big round Strickland clearly won it.
SCENES IN SYDNEY AS THE CHAMPION IS ROCKED! 🤯
Sean Strickland just dropped Israel Adesanya to close out the first round! #UFC293 pic.twitter.com/LOBfwcOCWe
— UFC Europe (@UFCEurope) September 10, 2023
All three judges scored the fight 49-46 in his favour, prompting wild celebrations from the Australian fans who had grown to love him throughout fight week.
After trash-talking each other throughout the build-up, both men showed respect and even embraced before Strickland’s post-fight interview with Daniel Cormier.
What the f*** is this?” he said pointing to the belt.
“Am I f****** dreaming? Izzy’s a bad motherf*****. The majority of my friends, he’s beat pretty easily. I was even kind of doubting myself at times.
“I’ve got to say the fans in Australia, you guys motivated me.
“I want to thank you guys for this win because you f****** motivated me!
(TalkSPORT)
