Despite going into the fight as a massive underdog against one of the greatest champions in UFC history, Sean Strickland(28, 5) stunned MMA fans in Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney Olympic Park Australia, on Sunday, by outworking and beating Israel Adesanya(24, 3) to become UFC middleweight champion with a unanimous decision win(49-46).
Adesanya, 34, entered the fight as a -650 favorite, but Strickland seemed poised for action from the opening bell, and used simple strikes to outwork a thrown off and ineffective Adesanya.
The bombastic Californian-born 32-year-old dropped Adesanya with a right hand in the opening round, becoming the first fighter to do so in UFC. The picture-perfect right cross, sent Adesanya spinning to the canvas before seeking a finish. The American was quick to take advantage, unleashing a series of shots that had the champion in trouble until the end of the first round.
The second and third rounds were mostly uneventful until Strickland landed a one-two, left hook and stinging jab late in the frame. The American had a body-lock opportunity in Round 4, when Adesanya overshot a strike, but Strickland let go of his opponent.
In the fifth and final round, while Adesanya increased his output, he was still a step behind Strickland, who continued to press forward and taunt his rival late in the round before the final buzzer sounded. The American beat the Nigerian-New Zealander by unanimous decision 49-46.
Contrary to expectations of many MMA experts, Strickland didn't try to wrestle. He used a combination of effective leg-walk and unrelenting strikes to his advantage. According to UFC Stats, The American outlanded Adesanya 137-94 in total strikes.
With the result, the “Last Stylebender” lost the middleweight title for the second time. In November, he suffered a TKO loss to his old kickboxing rival Alex Pereira, but Adesanya regained the belt by knocking out the Brazilian in a rematch in April.
Strickland was magnanimous in Sunday's victory, "You guys know, Izzy is a bad motherfucker, guys," he said. "He's beaten the majority of my friends pretty easily. I was doubting myself at times but the fans in Australia, you motivated me. ... In the fourth round, when I heard you yelling, it motivated me, guys."
At the post-fight press conference, Adesanya said: "I had a different plan for this but again life throws curveballs at you. Win or lose, I wasn't going to say much anyway but right now, I lost tonight to the better man on the night. I just want to go and be with people who care about me -- my team and they're waiting for me so I'm going to do that."
Strickland who is known for his non-politically correct rants, joked at the post-fight presser, that UFC executives must be wondering why they let "a retard" win the the championship fight.
Adesanya's camp has reportedly asked for a rematch.
Here are the results in other fight matchups in Sunday's UFC 293 event:
Alexander Volkov def. Tai Tuivasa via second-round submission (Ezekiel choke)
Manel Kape def. Felipe Dos Santos via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
Justin Tafa def. Austen Lane via first-round TKO (punches)
Tyson Pedro def. Anton Turkalj via first-round TKO (punches)
Carlos Ulberg def. Da Woon Jung via third-round submission (rear-naked choke)
Chepe Mariscal def. Jack Jenkins via second-round submission (verbal tap)
John Makdessi def. Jamie Mullarkey via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Nasrat Haqparast def. Landon Quinones via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Charlie Radtke def. Mike Diamond via unanimous decision (29-27, 29-27, 29-27)
Gabriel Miranda def. Shane Young via first-round submission (neck crank)
Kevin Jousset def. Kiefer Crosbie via first-round submission (rear-naked choke)
WATCH Strickland-Adesanya fight highlights, and some controversial pre-and post-fight quotes from Strickland