Sean Strickland seized the UFC middleweight champion title in a shock decision win over Israel Adesanya at UFC 293, marking one of the most surprising results in MMA history.
Sean Strickland is the new UFC middleweight champion after seizing a clear-cut decision win over Israel Adesanya in UFC 293. This shocking result in Sydney’s Qudos Bank Arena, Australia will go down as one of the most unexpected results in MMA history. Strickland’s victory led the headlines after a thrilling evening of explosive finishes and is among the significant takeaways from UFC 293.
After his win, Strickland is now considered a frontrunner for Fighter of the Year. Unbelievably, Strickland, who the UFC had previously been skeptical to give a title shot to, had earlier in the year been on a two-fight losing streak. He had faced one of the most embarrassing knockouts in recent memory and had been fighting in an empty UFC APEX against an unranked unknown. Fast-forward to the present day, and he’s 3-0 in 2023 and flying home to Las Vegas with 12 pounds of gold around his waist.
A straightforward question arose earlier in the week regarding where an Israel Adesanya loss at UFC 293 would rank among the biggest upsets. All odds were stacked against Strickland, who was considered an unlikely contender. However, Strickland surpassed all expectations to stage a striking clinic over Adesanya, leading to what is seen as one of the top-five biggest upsets in UFC history. The achievement of Strickland and his coach, Xtreme Couture’s Eric Nicksick, will forever be remembered in the history of UFC.
As the buzz on Strickland’s win starts to settle, conversations and speculation on where things go from here have started. UFC President, Dana White, has expressed interest in a rematch between Strickland and Adesanya; however, with Adesanya having lost two of his last three championship bouts, there may be room to explore other pairings in the middleweight division. With Strickland’s victory, the entire top 10 are now potential contenders. Truly, the world of middleweight has become more interesting than ever.