UFC 293: Sean Strickland stuns Israel Adesanya in one of the biggest upsets of all time
Newly-minted UFC champion Sean Strickland has revealed bizarre details of his post-fight encounter with Israel Adesanya. Re-live every controversy and round here.
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UFC president Dana White says an immediate rematch is likely after Sean Strickland’s phenomenal win over Israel Adesanya at UFC 293.
Strickland was superior over five rounds, claiming a lop-sided unanimous decision win to take the middleweight title in one of the biggest shocks in UFC history.
“I think you do the rematch, absolutely,” White said moments after the result. “The rematch is interesting.”
Just a week ago, Strickland admitted to “having no self-control” when he lost his cool and punched a fan who had insulted him.
On Sunday, he showed remarkable composure as a $6 outsider to become 185-pound champion.
Welcome to the wild and unpredictable world of the UFC.
It was the best performance of Strickland’s career by some margin.
A former neo-Nazi, who has spent years running from his abusive childhood, Strickland says MMA saved his life.
“I’m just happy that this world has a place for us,” he said at his post-fight press conference. “If it wasn’t for this, I’m sure I would’ve committed some random act of violence and be locked up for killing somebody.
“Huzzah to the UFC, thanks for saving someone’s life, including my own.”
The controversial American nearly stopped Adesanya late in the first round, before outfighting one of the greatest middleweights ever.
Strickland, who spoke about Adesanya’s dead dog in the lead up to the fight, said the New Zealander’s comments afterwards were “f***ing strange.
“I think he was mad that I made fun of his dog. I’m not even joking.”
Adesanya has a tattoo of the dog on his neck, and confronted Strickland immediately after the fight.
“I was like, what the f**k is going on,” Strickland said of the interaction. “Are we having this conversation?”
Strickland later revealed to the media that he has killed a dog in his past.
“I was hiking once. I had a bunch of dogs off a leash,” he said. “I had my little rascals running around and there were these stray dogs – vicious f***ing pitbulls – running at my dog, and I had my gun and boom, plugged one.
“To clarify it was all self-defence. But I’m sorry, Izzy, I’m sure your dog was a great fella.”
Strickland also weighed in on Adesanya’s brief press conference following the loss.
Adesanya made a one minute speech before passing the microphone to his coach, Eugene Bareman, and leaving with family.
“You win some you lose some, man the f**k up,” Strickland said. “There’s a chance I will fight someone else and I’m bloody and beat up. It’s fighting.
“We’re throwing four ounce gloves really hard.”
The magnitude of Strickland’s upset is only intensified by the fact that he was barely in title contention two months ago.
Adesanya had been linked to another bout with Robert Whittaker, before Whittaker lost to Dricus du Plessis in July.
Du Plessis was then next in line for a shot at the belt, before pulling out with injury.
That left Strickland as the only man who could step in, and he won over a huge amount of Aussie fans by donning an Akubra and adopting a Crocodile Dundee persona all week.
Almost every expert had written him off beforehand, and he even admitted to wondering whether he could win.
But, proving that the best laid plans nearly always come unstuck in MMA, Strickland delivered a performance that no one could have predicted.
“Who the f**k let this happen?” Strickland joked of his own upset win. “Why did we agree to this? So many other options and we let Sean Strickland fight Izzy. Sorry, guys.”
Strickland has been condemned for racist and misogynistic comments, but it was another pair of fighters who embarrassed themselves on the microphone on fight day.
American Charlie Radtke’s post-fight interview was cut short when he used a homophobic slur directed at the crowd, before Manel Kape used the same word to describe Kiwi fighter Kai Kara-France’s teammates.
Both fighters were booed out of the cage and needed to be escorted out of the arena, with Kape showered in beer and plastic cups as he left. Radtke later apologised for his comments.
It was a mixed bag for the rest of the local contingent on the card.
Tai Tuivasa was forced to tap out in the second round against Russian giant Alexander Volkov, bringing the popular Western Sydney heavyweight’s losing streak to three.
Jack Jenkins fell to his first UFC loss when he suffered a horrible dislocated elbow in the second round of his fight with Chepe Mariscal.
Penrith’s Tyson Pedro received the loudest pop of the day when he knocked out Anton ‘Pleasure Man’ Turkalj in the first round, with Panthers halfback Nathan Cleary watching on.
Justin Tafa delivered the most thunderous KO of the afternoon, starching Austen Lane just 1:22 into the opening round, while Jamie Mullarkey scored a decision win over veteran John Makdessi.
THE FIGHT
Round five: Strickland maintained his relentless forward pressure as bumps and bruises began to appear on Adesanya’s face.
The Kiwi probably knew he was behind on the scorecards, and looked for the finish, but couldn’t land anything.
Round four: The crowd started to get behind Strickland as he continued to press the pace and the action in the main event.
Adesanya was pushed against the fence for the majority of the round as Strickland landed the major combinations and pressure throughout.
Strickland finished the round on top seeming to damage Adesanya with his combinations.
Round three: Boos rang out at points in the third. Adesanya flowed more, and started landing some better shots, but Strickland landed the most telling punch of the round with 90 seconds remaining.
Round two: Adesanya is busier earlier in the second after nearly being stopped in the first.
Strickland kept his forward pressure up, while Adesanya feinted and looked for counters.
Round one: Strickland pressured early, looking to close the distance, while Adesanya gauged his range.
Neither fighter landed much during the first three minutes of an intense showdown. The American managed to land a few right hands as Adesanya kicked to the body and legs.
Strickland dropped the champion with 25 seconds left in the round, and nearly finished it with Adesanya covered up against the cage. A big right hand did the damage.
The bout could have been stopped, but referee Marc Goddard let it continue and the Stylebender made it to the bell.
1:35pm - Popular Western Sydney heavyweight Tai Tuivasa has been forced to tap out in the second round of his UFC 293 co-main event fight with Alexander Volkov.
Tuivasa was throwing huge bombs from the opening minute, but ended the first round bleeding badly from a cut on his face.
He opened the second round swinging with venom again, but Volkov landed the better of the exchanges.
The fight went to the mat with two minutes remaining, with Volkov landing brutal ground and pound, and looking for a submission.
It looked as though Tuivasa would be able to survive until the end of the round, but he was forced to tap with 23 seconds left due to a ezekiel choke.
1:15pm - Manel Kape has become the second fighter on the card to drop a homophobic slur in his post-fight interview with Daniel Cormier.
Kape used the word after scoring a unanimous decision win over debutant Felipe dos Santos.
Kape unexpectedly turned into the biggest villain on the card earlier in the week when he went after hugely popular Kiwi fighter Kai Kara-France at Thursday’s press conference.
After his win, he launched another tirade at Kara-France and his City Kickboxing teammates, calling them “f****ts”.
Cormier immediately cut the interview short, and Kape was booed out of the cage.
UFC president Dana White was seen having a word to the flyweight as he exited.
Dana White has a word to Manel Kape after Kape became the second fight to call someone a “f****t†today. #UFC293pic.twitter.com/UowdUg2SGV
— Brendan Bradford (@1bbradfo) September 10, 2023
Kape was then drenched by beer and plastic cups as he walked up the tunnel to exit.
Shockingly, he was the second fighter on the card to use the slur, hours after Charlie Radtke was similarly booed from the arena for using it.
Radtke later apologised for his homophobic remarks towards UFC Sydney fans after his win against Mike ‘Blood Diamond’ Mathetha.
The UFC welterweight says his comments are not a reflection of the type of person he is and that he is sorry for making the remarks.
“I‘d like to sincerely apologise to UFC fans across the world and to the fans in Sydney for the remarks I made post fight today,” he said.
My sincere apologies to all of you watching today #ChuckBuffalo@danawhite@seanshelby@espn@espnmma@ufcpic.twitter.com/jXE9uO1JsU
— Charles Radtke (@ChuckBuffaloMMA) September 10, 2023
Kara-France was scheduled to fight Kape at UFC 293, but was ruled out due to a concussion he picked up in training.
Kape launched a verbal tirade at Kara-France, who was in the crowd for the fight week press conference. He then threw a water bottle in his direction, seeing Kara-France’s teammate Israel Adesanya to step in.
12:54pm - KNOCKOUT! ‘Bad Man’ Justin Tafa has electrified Sydney, brutally finishing Austen Lane in the first round.
After the fight Tafa called for the 50,000 dollar bonus for performance of the night.
Tafa said “I was trying to find my eye in his face,” referencing the last time the pair fought and was stopped 29 seconds in due to Lane poking Tafas eye.
Nathan Cleary watches Tyson Pedro beat the ‘Pleasure Man’
Fresh off beating the Warriors on Saturday night, Nathan Cleary had the best seats in the house to watch his mate Tyson Pedro score a stunning first round knockout of Anton ‘Pleasure Man’ Turkalj.
Cleary was on form on Saturday, scoring a try for the Panthers in the first week of the finals, and was a keen fight fan on Sunday afternoon.
The halfback had his phone out recording Pedro’s walkout, and burst into celebration when his friend and business partner knocked out Turkalj in the first round.
Pedro took the first minute to size his opponent up, checking a few kicks and staying out of danger.
The Penrith fighter exploded in the second minute, rattling Turkalj after a clinch.
From then it was just a matter of time until Pedro finished it, dropping the Swede with 2:12 left.
Cleary was one of the first to erupt in celebration.
Nathan Cleary celebrates @tyson_pedro_’s stunning first round KO. #UFC293#NRLpic.twitter.com/Pn1jrEj2RG
— Brendan Bradford (@1bbradfo) September 10, 2023
Pedro and Cleary are business partners with Tai Tuivasa in Drink West.
There was bad blood in the lead-up to the fight after Turkalj mentioned Pedro’s wife during Thursday’s press conference.
Pedro, who had a chip on his shoulder after losing his last fight in Perth, said it became personal.
“He wanted me to taste the pleasure man, but he shouldn’t have mentioned my wife,” he said.
11:55am - A dominant display sees young Kiwi fighter Carlos Ulberg dominate Da Woon Jung to a pulp, finishing the South Korean fighter by rear naked choke, and Jung not being able to get up for minutes after the fight.
A late flurry saw Jung mounted for the last minute of the fight taking heavy shots and eventually giving up his neck and being finished as the final horn sounded.
Upon review referee Herb Dean called the fight a submission victory at four minutes and 49 seconds of the third round.
Jack Jenkins suffers horrible arm injury
Aussie favourite Jack Jenkins looks to have suffered a dislocated elbow in a sickening second round incident against Chepe Mariscal.
Jenkins and Mariscal were clinching against the cage when Mariscal tossed the Aussie to the canvas.
Jenkins threw his right arm out to brace himself, but it bent back at an awkward angle, forcing the Melbourne-based featherweight to verbally submit.
It wasn’t immediately clear what had happened, with Jenkins remaining on the canvas for more than two minutes as he received medical attention.
“I heard a pop, something break,” Mariscal said afterwards. “I haven’t heard that since I was little when we were kids.”
Jenkins managed to wave to the crowd as he was helped out of the cage cradling his arm.
The loss ends Jenkins’ impressive two-fight win streak in the UFC after rising to prominence on Dana White’s Contender Series last year.
11am - Fans have been spoilt with another fight of the night contender as Jamie Mullarkey edged veteran John Makdessi in a decision victory.
A close back and forth battle which saw Mullarkey get dropped at the end of the second round, which saw the homegrown hero claw back a strong finish in round three.
“I expected him to fight a kickboxing fight,” Mullarkey said afterwards. “We worked diligently on our outside game, staying patient and, as you saw in my last fight, not rushing.”
10:30am - Nasrat Haqparast and Landon Quinones have put on a contender for fight of the night to open the prelims.
The three-round striking battle went back forth for the entire 15 minutes before Naqparast scored a unanimous decision victory.
Naqparast won with three scores of 30-27, but Quinones’ performance was one of the better you’ll ever see from a debut fighter who lost every round.
Charles Radtke’s interview cut short after slur
UFC Welterweight Charles Radtke has been rushed out of the building after telling UFC Sydney fans, “F*** all you f*****,” after an impressive win against the much hyped Blood Diamond.
Radtke dominated Diamond in the early round which fans did not take liking to due to the heavy wrestling approach, leading to beer cups being launched at the american fighter.
Radtke’s post-fight interview with Daniel Cormier in the Octagon was cut short immediately after the homophobic slur and he was escorted backstage.
The crowd was already underwhelmed by his wrestle-first approach, and booed when the the scorecards were read out.
Radtke then pulled the finger to the Qudos Bank Arena crowd as he stepped out of the Octagon.
Massive boos for Charlie Radtke, whose post fight interview was cut short after he called the crowd “f****tsâ€. #UFC293pic.twitter.com/11oq85WKFr
— Brendan Bradford (@1bbradfo) September 10, 2023
The boos increased as he approached the tunnel to exit the arena floor, where at least one plastic cup was thrown in his direction.
NBA royalty in attendance
Denver Nuggets NBA championship-winning point guard Jamal Murray is in the house.
A massive fight fan, and a good mate of featherweight champion Alex Volkanovski, Murray was in his seat from the very first fights of the day.
Murray is in Australia doing some off-season training. In July, he sat in Volkanovski’s dressing room for the Aussie’s title defence against Yair Rodriguez in Las Vegas.
9:05am - Kiwi fighter Shane Young has been submitted in the first minute of the first round of his catchweight bout with Gabriel Miranda.
Young struggled to make the featherweight limit at Friday’s weigh-ins, missing the mark by more than three pounds.
Miranda locked in a neck crack in the opening minute, choking Young unconscious. Young was left convulsing momentarily on the canvas before waking up.
8:50 am - Kevin Jousset has started his career in the best possible way, submitting Kiefer Crosbie with only 11 seconds left in round one.
A back and forth battle which saw the City Kickboxing rookie bring his gym their first win of the day.
What time is the UFC 293 Main Event fight?
Expect Israel Adesanya and Sean Strickland to fight after 2pm.
UFC fever takes over Sydney
UFC fever has hit Sydney with fans pouring out to events all week showing their love for the sport and meeting some of the biggest stars.
From open workouts to the UFC official launch party by Delgados Tequila Soda at the sporting globe in Barangaroo, Sydney fans have been spoiled for choice before fight day.
Lifelong fan of the UFC Anek Banik has enjoyed the events over the last week and is excited Sydney has been privileged to host a variety of fan interactions.
“Being a massive fan of the UFC it‘s amazing to see it back in Sydney for the first time in six years,” Banik said.
“The city has turned into UFC central, so to get the opportunity to meet my favourite fighters and see a blockbuster fight is a massive privilege.”
Saturday‘s launch party saw international superstars Aljamain Sterling, Dan Hooker and the voice of the UFC Jon Anik partying with over 1000 fans as they prepare to witness one of the biggest fights Sydney has ever seen.
Having commentated all over the globe Anik says there are no fans on the level of Sydney and expects them to blow the roof off on Sunday.
“All the fans here are so respectful and knowledgeable, this is the only country I would ever be out the night before a pay-per-view as I want to give back to them.” Anik said.
Sydney based fighter Josh Culibao also stopped by and is glad the UFC has returned to Sydney and is amazed to see all the fan support considering its treacherous hiatus.
“The sport has grown so much since 2017 and now there are so many more fans it‘s great to see everyone getting around it”. Culibao said.
UFC 293 takes place on Sunday with Middleweight champion Israel Adesanya taking on the controversial Sean Strickland.
Can Sean Strickland cause a massive upset?
Sean Strickland has emerged as an unlikely Aussie fan favourite ahead of his UFC 293 middleweight world title fight with Israel Adesanya in Sydney today.
Despite his record of outlandish comments – including that women shouldn’t work or vote – Strickland’s everyman persona has struck a chord.
The 31-year-old American received a louder cheer than the Nigerian-born, New Zealand-based Adesanya at Thursday’s press conference and at Friday’s weigh-ins.
Adesanya also received more boos at both events, which were staged in front of thousands of MMA-starved fans ahead of the first UFC event held in Sydney since November 2017.
Still, the task that awaits Strickland is daunting.
Adesanya is one of the greatest middleweights of all time, whose striking prowess has left a trail of would-be world champions bloodied and bruised.
He rectified a shock defeat to Alex Pereira last November with a comprehensive second-round knockout in their rematch in April, and today’s fight is the 34-year-old’s 11th five-round title fight.
Strickland on the other hand has never fought for a title before and admitted he struggled to make the 185-pound championship weight limit.
The Californian, who won fans over by dressing up as Crocodile Dundee last week, is a massive underdog, to the tune of $6.05.
A Strickland win would be one of the greatest UFC upsets in recent memory, ranking alongside Holly Holm’s win over Ronda Rousey at UFC 193 in Melbourne in 2015.
That’s not to say it can’t happen though.
Commentator Laura Sanko, who will create history by becoming the first woman to call a UFC pay per view event, says it comes down to a clash of styles.
“If Adesanya is a jazz musician, bending notes, playing extemporaneously, and creating these really interesting chords and letting things flow out of him in the moment, then Sean Strickland is thrash metal,” Sanko told this masthead.
“He’s in your face, and it might not be your cup of tea, and you might not appreciate the beauty of it, but it can be incredibly effective.
“It’s an uphill battle for Sean, but I do think it’s going to be a lot closer than what many people think.”
If the main event is a clash of jazz and metal, the co-main – featuring Western Sydney’s Tai Tuivasa and Russian giant Alexander Volkov – is a similarly intriguing meeting of styles.
It’s a must-win bout for knockout artist Tuivasa, who has been stopped in his last two fights, but has claimed seven knockouts in his eight UFC wins to date.
At two metres tall, Volkov towers over Tuivasa and is the favourite to add to his two-fight win streak.
The rest of the card is full of local talent, with 10 of 12 fights featuring Australians or Kiwis, including Western Sydney’s Tyson Pedro, Central Coast boy Jamie Mullarkey and Justin ‘Bad Man’ Tafa.
Originally published as UFC 293: Sean Strickland stuns Israel Adesanya in one of the biggest upsets of all time
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