Sean Strickland shocked the world tonight by flooring Israel Adesanya in the 1st round of their UFC 293 middleweight title fight and then going on to convincingly beat him by unanimous decision.
Round One:
The main event middleweight title fight is underway in Las Vegas.
Adesanya attempts a front kick to the body and Strickland almost catches it. Leg kick for Adesanya. Now a body kick. Side-to-side movement from Adesanya now.
Feints from Adesanya and a jab. Light inside leg kick from Strickland. Adesanya staying patient for now. He lands a leg kick. Right hand from Strickland comes up short. Kick from Adesanya is caught, but Strickland is unable to work anything off that.
Head kick attempt from Adesanya, but more speculative than anything. Leg kick from Strickland. Now a push kick from the challenger.
Leg kick from Adesanya. Strickland doing a good job of checking kicks though. Strickland pressing forward and looking to crowd Adesanya. He lands a nice punch and Adesanya shells up for a moment.
Kick for Adesanya. Now a leg kick. He’s still working on the outside here, allowing Strickland to come forward. He attempts a head kick that misses.
Huge right hand from Strickland rocks Adesanya and drops him!! Adesanya trying to struggle back to his feet as Strickland lands more punches. Adesanya does get back up, but ate a lot of punches in the process. He seems ok though as they get back to it on the feet, and the round ends soon after.
Round Two:
Adesanya back on the outside to start the 2nd round. He throws a head kick attempt. Now a body kick and one in return from Strickland.
leg kick for Adesanya. Leg kick for Strickland. Jab for Strickland. Adesanya evades a punch and tries to counter with a head kick without success.
Body kick for Adesanya. Jab for Strickland. Body kick from Adesanya. Body punch for the champ. He again tries for a head kick that’s blocked.
Body punch and a leg kick from Adesanya. He lands an overhand. Push kick for Strickland. Jab from Adesanya.
Leg kicks from Adesanya. He circles away on the outside. Leg kick for Strickland. Jab and then a punch to the body from Adesanya. He lands a leg kick too. Jab connects for Strickland.
Heavy right hand from Adesanya, but Strickland eats it. Body kick from teh champ. Jab lands for Strickland.
Body kick from Adesanya. A couple of punches connect from Strickland, though not with much power as the round comes to a close.
Round Three:
Body kick for Adesanya. Jab for him. Inside leg kick. Now one to the outside. He jabs to the body. Leg kick for Strickland. Adesanya misses a kick, but lands one afterwards.
Front kick to the body from Adesanya. Strickland with one of his own now. Leg kick for Adesanya as the crowd starts to get a bit restless.
Right hand over the top lands for Adesanya. Now a head kick that’s blocked. Back to the leg kick for Adesanya. Push kick from Strickland.
Adesanya loads up on a head kick and misses. Strickland pumps out the jab. Right hand for Adesanya and Strickland threatens with a counter.
Leg kick for Adesanya then circles away. Jab for Strickland and tries to land another punch behind it. Adesanya swings and misses and eats a nice counter punch from Strickland for his troubles.
Low kicks from Adesanya and a jab lands from Strickland again. Strickland misses a punch and Adesanya connects on a counter, but Strickland gets a left hook too.
Adesanya loading up on a punch and then ducks as he backs out. Jab for Strickland. Push kick attempt from Strickland, but Adesanya side-steps it.
Round Four:
Inside leg kick from Adesanya and a jab from Strickland in response. Leg kick from the champ and then goes upstairs with a head kick attempt.
Jab for Strickland. Body kick from Adesanya. Adesanya loads up on a left hand, but doesn’t connect. Push kicks from Strickland and then lands a solid jab.
Adesanya fakes a punch and pays for it as Strickland lands punches down the pipe. Adesanya a bit troubled for a moment by that but gets back to it.
Body kick and a fencing-style jab from Adesanya. Strickland with more straight punches and Adesanya has to head back into his defensive shell for a moment.
Jab for Strickland. Body kick from Adesanya. Strickland marching him down constantly. Leg kick from Adesanya.
Adesanya tries to flurry to the body, but it doesn’t connect cleanly. Adesanya having to fight off the back foot as Strickland walks him down.
Strickland lands and so does Adesanya. Left hand gets through for Strickland. Jab and a push kick from Strickland. Adesanya looks out-of-sorts as the final round approaches.
Round Five:
Leg kick for Adesanya. Leg kick, head kick and one to the body from Adesanya. Adesanya trying to time a left hand counter there without sticking it.
Jab for Strickland. Strickland checks a leg kick. Push kick from Strickland. Body kick from Adesanya. Another push kick from Strickland.
Body kick for Adesanya. Now a punch to the body. Strickland continuing to press forward relentlessly. One-two connects for the challenger. Right hand from Adesanya. Jab for Strickland. Leg kick from Adesanya. Now a body kick.
Jab from Adesanya as Strickland was throwing his own. Jab for Adesanya. Harder jab lands from Strickland. Now a right hand from Strickland. Back to the jab for him. He connects with another jab and Adesanya is in real danger of losing his title here.
Strickland continuing to pour on the pressure as we reach the final minute of the fight. Jab lands again for Strickland. Push kick for him. Adesanya just circling and seems out of ideas despite all his offensive weapons.
Push kick for Strickland. He throws a right hook. Strickland marching forward and yelling at Adesanya. He throws a final overhand as the round ends. This could be one of the all-time biggest upsets in the history of the sport.
Decision:
Strickland outdid all expectations tonight, flooring Adesanya in the opening round and then making him look uncomfortable throughout the rest of the fight as he continued to apply pressure and find a home for his crisp jab. Despite all the weapons as his disposal Adesanya appeared perplexed as to how to get the momentum back in his favor and ultimately paid the price as Strickland was announced as the UFC’s new middleweight champion with a unanimous decision victory (49-46 x3).
