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Israel Adesanya came in as a huge betting favorite at UFC 293, but Sean Strickland did not care about the odds.
The challenger came in, pressured, and outright beat the long time middleweight UFC champion with a very wide decision. It was such a shocking upset that even left the new champion at a loss for words after his huge accomplishment.
Sean Strickland reacts to winning title over Israel Adesanya at UFC 293
“What is this?! What is this??” Strickland reacted after the belt was wrapped around his waist. “Am I f—king dreaming? Am I going to wake up? Somebody hit me. Oh my god, guys. Never in a million years did I think I would be here. I don’t f—king cry much, but I’m trying to keep my shit together now.”
Strickland hurt Adesanya early, and didn’t let up as he pressured so well for the five rounds. Adesanya has been a long term champion with his incredible striking, but Saturday night against Strickland, he didn’t have any answers. Adesanya couldn’t make adjustments to Strickland’s pressure and defense, and he ended up losing four of the five rounds on every judge’s scorecard.
“Izzy is a bad motherf—ker. He has so many highlight reel knockouts, he’s beat the majority of my friends pretty easily. Man, I was even doubting myself at times,” Strickland revealed. “But I got to say, the fans in Australia motivated me. I’m not even joking.
Known for his work ethic and cardio, all of Strickland’s hard work paid off in a big way at UFC 293.
“I worked so hard. I gave up so many brain cells getting ready for this,” Strickland said.
I never thought I would ever be typing this, Sean Strickland is the new UFC middleweight champion of the world.
UFC 293 quick results
Main card
- – Sean Strickland def. Israel Adesanya by unanimous decision (49-46 x3): Middleweight
- – Alexander Volkov def. Tai Tuivasa by submission (Ezekiel) at 4:37 of round 2: Heavyweight
- – Manel Kape def. Felipe dos Santos by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28 x2): Flyweight
- – Justin Tafa def. Austen Lane by TKO at 1:22 of round 1: Heavyweight
- – Tyson Pedro def. Anton Turkalj by KO at 2:12 of round 1: Light Heavyweight
Prelims
- – Carlos Ulberg def. Da Un Jung by submission (RNC) at 4:49 of round 3: Light Heavyweight
- – Chepe Mariscal def. Jack Jenkins by submission (Verbal from arm break) at 3:19 of round 2: Featherweight
- – Jamie Mullarkey def. John Makdessi by unanimous decision (29-28 x3): Lightweight
- – Nasrat Haqparast def. Landon Quiñones by unanimous decision (30-27 x3): Lightweight
Early prelims
- – Charlie Radtke def. Blood Diamond by unanimous decision (29-27 x3): Welterweight
- – Gabriel Miranda def. Shane Young by technical submission (RNC) at :59 of round 1: Featherweight
- – Kevin Jousset def. Kiefer Crosbie by submission (RNC) at 4:49 of round 1: Welterweight
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