The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) heads down under to Sydney for the sixth time in its history, with an action-packed fight card for UFC 293 on Sept. 9. Israel “The Last Stylebender” Adesanya attempts to defend the UFC Middleweight title against challenger Sean “Tarzan” Strickland in what many MMA experts predict will be a very one-sided affair. Everything points to an Adesanya victory, but Strickland is not only there to make up the numbers and pick up a paycheck. He couldn’t beat the legendary Adesanya, could he?
Who Is Sean Strickland?
32-year-old Strickland hails from Anaheim, Calif., and has been a professional fighter since 2008, joining the UFC six years later. Strickland’s current professional record stands at 32 matches, 27 victories, and five defeats, with 11 of his victories coming by way of knockout and 12 settled by the judges. Strickland has only managed four submission wins in his career, which he will not be too worried about, as Adesanya has never lost by waving the white flag.
The current UFC Pound-for-Pound rankings place Stickland fifth in the middleweight division, while Adesanya ranks first in this weight category and fifth in the UFC overall. This vast disparity is just one of the reasons Strickland is a rank outsider in the latest UFC 293 betting markets and why UFC experts predict Adesanya will win this contest at a canter.
Strickland goes into this championship clash in mixed form, with two victories and two defeats in his previous four outings. Alex Pereira knocked out Strickland at UFC 276 in July 2022, and the American lost back-to-back bouts when a split decision awarded the victory to Jared Cannonier in mid-December 2022.
Despite having fought for five rounds against Cannonier, Strickland showed what a warrior he is by stepping into the Octagon only 28 days later in a Light Heavyweight battle against Nassourdine Imavov. Strickland emerged victorious courtesy of a unanimous decision. The man affectionately known as “Tarzan” last fought on July 1, 2023, when he beat Abusupiyan Magomedov by technical knockout in the second round, earning Strickland a Performance of the Night bonus.
Israel Adesanya Regained His Title and Overcame a Huge Mental Hurdle
Israel Adesanya was hoping to defend his UFC Middleweight Championship belt against South Africa’s Dricus du Plessis in what would have been a blockbuster battle, but du Plessis wasn’t ready, having recently fought Robert Whittaker at UFC 290 in July 2023. The promotion wanted Adesanya to headline UFC 293, and Strickland was pushed to the front of the queue.
Adesanya only loses to Strickland if he completely underestimates the American and goes into the fight thinking that he has won before it begins. Adesanya is streets ahead of Strickland in every department, plus the Nigerian-born superstar is on a massive high after regaining the middleweight title at UFC 287 in April 2023.
Adesanya won the interim middleweight title at UFC 236 in April 2019 against Kelvin Gastelum before winning and unifying the title with an impressive knockout victory over Robert Whittaker six months later. “The Last Stylebender” successfully defended that title five times before Alex Pereira defeated Adesanya by technical knockout (punches) in November 2022 at UFC 281, becoming the first man to stop him in this division.
A rematch was always on the cards, and it took place in Miami, Fla., on April 8, 2023. Adesanya was back to his brilliant best, knocking out Pereira in the second round to get his hands back on the belt he believes is rightfully his. With his Pereira victory, Adesanya reclaimed the middleweight belt and overcame the huge mental hurdle of losing a title. His only defeat in this weight class inspired Adesanya to improve, which spells bad news for his latest challenger.
It Is Not a Case Of If Adesanya Will Win But How and When
As mentioned, Strickland is not there to be a punching bag for Adesanya and will put up a fight, but it is challenging to imagine how he can overcome the defending champion. Strickland lacks the outright punching power to worry Adesanya, as is evident from him only stopping two of the seven opponents he has beaten since moving up to middleweight in 2020.
Strickland’s best hope of causing one of the biggest upsets in UFC history is to grapple with Adesanya and get him on the floor. Strickland has a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, but he rarely employs those skills when required. His best bet in his fight against Pereira in July 2022 was to get him on the floor, but he rarely attempted to. Could that be a lack of fight intelligence on Strickland’s part?
On paper, Adesanya is too good of a fighter to worry about Strickland causing him any trouble. The New Zealand-based Nigerian will likely spend the first round warming up and sizing up Strickland before dispatching him sometime in the second round, almost certainly leaving him on his back, out cold on the canvas.
Adesanya is supremely confident going into this fight and expects the contest to be over quickly. Speaking on his YouTube channel, Adesanya said, “I don’t take this lightly. You guys will see me, see I’ve been working. I’m not underestimating this guy, but at the same time, I’m not overestimating him. I want to make this look easy; I’m gonna make this look easy because of the work that we’re doing right now. And the way that I’m working right now, I just know.”
Conclusion
Anything can happen in combat sports where athletes risk life and limb in the Octagon. All it takes is one blow in the right place to end a contest there and then. However, Adesanya is such a formidable foe, that he has only lost one fight at middleweight and returned from that defeat as a better fighter.
Strickland should be commended for stepping in and standing toe-to-toe with someone guaranteed to become a UFC Hall of Famer, but he has bitten off more than he can chew this time and should become another win on Adesanya’s already impressive record by the time the weekend is over.
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