UFC 293 took place at Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, Australia, and was headlined by middleweight champion Israel Adesanya defending his crown against Sean Strickland. Adesanya had become a two-time champion in April, regaining his throne with a thunderous second-round knockout of nemesis Alex Pereira. It was perfect revenge after Pereira scored a thrilling five-round knockout in November 2022 to temporarily dethrone the Nigerian. Strickland, for his part, was a surprise challenger. Most expected Dricus Du Plessis to fight for the title after having knocked out former champion Robert Whittaker, a man some felt deserved the nod over Adesanya in their rematch. Yet, despite a heated confrontation between du Plessis and Adesanya after that fight, Dana White passed over du Plessis as the South African was injured and unable to compete in a title match an absurd seven weeks after the Whittaker win. Strickland came into the fight 2-2 in his last four, having been knocked out in the first round by Pereira, losing a split decision to Jared Cannonier that could have gone either way, soundly outpointing upstart Nassourdine Imavov, and then knocking out Abus Magomedov, who had no energy left after the first round.
Strickland’s Victory over Adesanya
Strickland didn’t let long odds or an abbreviated training camp stop him. At the end of the first round, Strickland starched Adesanya with a huge right cross, dropping the champion and very nearly finishing him with follow-up blows. Adesanya survived, but over the next four rounds, Strickland walked forward, using expert blocking and head movement to avoid Adesanya’s punches to the head, checking his leg kicks, and landing punches of his own that were not only harder, but far more accurate. Adesanya was on his back foot retreating but just couldn’t generate much offense. Strickland became the surprising new champion, taking the decision 49-46 across the board.
Co-Main Event: Volkov vs. Tuivasa
In the co-main, heavyweight strikers collided when Aussie fan favorite Tai Tuivasa faced Russian Alexander Volkov. Tuivasa entered the bout with a two-fight losing streak, being knocked out by Ciryl Gane at the end of the third in a thrilling affair where Tuivasa had him badly hurt before being brutally beaten down by another Russian in Sergey Pavlovich in just 54 seconds. Volkov was 3-1 in his last four, being submitted in the first round by the superb Tom Aspinall, but easily defeating two other top grapplers with a first-round knockout of Alexander Romanov and one-sided decision over Marcin Tybura, as well as punching out dangerous striker Jairzinho Rozenstruik in just over 2 minutes. Volkov continued his success in this fight, nearly finishing Tuivasa with strikes at the end of the opening round before tapping him with a rare ezekiel choke submission near the end of the second stanza. This is only the fourth submission win of Volkov’s 37 victories, as well as the second straight time that Tuivasa has been stopped by a Russian in the cage.
Other Notable Fights
Elsewhere, former Rizin Fighting Federation champion and flyweight knockout artist Manel Kape fought late replacement Felipe dos Santos, filling in for injured Kai Kara-France. Kape took all three rounds, handing the Brazilian the first loss of his career. With the event over, there are several interesting future contests which can be booked, such as Sean Strickland vs. Dricus Du Plessis, Alexander Volkov vs. Curtis Blaydes, Tai Tuivasa vs. Jairzinho Rozenstruik, and Manel Kape vs. Kai Kara-France.
These potential matchups promise exciting contests and significant implications for the fighters involved. Fans will be eagerly anticipating the announcement of these bouts and looking forward to more thrilling action inside the octagon.