UFC 293 HIGHLIGHTS: Strickland shocks Adesanya to become new middleweight champion; results, streaming info

Sesn Strickland defeats Israel Adesanya by Unanimous Decision! What a moment for the American who sheds his eccentric self for once as he is overcome by emotions. Adesanya applauds the result and signals the crowd to applaud the new middleweight champion!

OFFICIAL SCORECARD

ROUND 5: Here we go! Adesanya with the early high kicks in. Strickland still holding his ground in movement. A minute to go and both fighters maintain their guard. A pretty defensive round against expectations here. 30 seconds left on the clock as the crowd builds up the atmosphere. Strickland attempts one final flourish but Adesanya’s feints gets him through. Strickland is ecstatic as he believes he’s done enough to get that belt!

ROUND 4: Strickland gets a firm word from his corner to avoid a boring decision result at the end of the previous round. Can he step it up here? Strickland lands another flurry of one-twos on Adesanya. Ander we had the distance with Strickland very much alive in the contest against the champion.

ROUND 3: Adesanya continues his push for the high kicks but Strickland holds them off. Adesanya evades a left hook but gets caught in a quick right jab from Strickland. Another firm left hook from Strickland lands flush on Adesanya.

ROUND 2: Admirable composure from Strickland as he forces Adesanya to take initiative. His defence has held him in good stead so far. Adesanya continues to examine his options with the high kick and low jab. A slew of one-two exchanges but both fighters maintain a considerable distance from one another. No signs of going for the kill as yet.

ROUND 1: Watchful start from the champion and Strickland as they flip from side-to-side while attempting the odd jab. Adesanya goes for the high kick but Strickland maintains his distance. Strickland blocks another low kick and pushes Adesanya onto the cage. Adesanya resorts to feints as Strickland maintains a sturdy presence up front. He blocks another right hook and has a firm grip on Adesanya’s hand. BANG! A cracking one-two right hand from Strickland stuns Adesanya. A barrage of jabs follow and Adesanya survives as the buzzer ticks off. Huge momentum on the side of the challenger now!

Israel Adesanya stats

• Second-most title fight wins in middleweight - 8
• 16 wins by KO

Sean Strickland stats

• Third-highest strike rate in middleweight history - 6.19 strikes per min.
• Highest strike defence among active middleweights - 65.4 per cent

The title clash is upon us!

Result: Volkov defeats Tuivasa by submission

ROUND 2: Tuivasa sends in a low kick but is pumped back by a firm right hand. He trips over while attempting another body jab and Volkov gains ascendency again. Volkov freezes Tuivasa with the elbow and sends in the choke to force submission! Volkov notches up another win!

ROUND 1: A sedate start quickly shifts to a firm charge from Tuivasa but Volkov makes the best use of his height to deny his opponent. Tuivasa struggles in his movement against the towering Russian but forces him onto the cage. And Volkvov flips the scales now and bloodied Tuivasa with a sharp elbow. A couple of firm hooks batters Tuivasa as the buzzer goes off.

Alexander Volkov stats

• Fifth-most significant strikes in heavyweight history - 923
• Most leg kicks in a UFC heavyweight fight - 56

Manel Kape defeats Felipe dos Santos by UNANIMOUS Decision.

ROUND 3: dos Santos continues to stand upright and attempt firm and straight jabs with the occasional low kick. Manel still sturdy in defence but will hope to get a move on quickly. Firm elbow exchanges as the roars from the audience intensify. Under two minutes to go and this one’s still neck-and-neck. A late surge from Kape as he pushes dos Santos to the floor and attempts a few elbow strikes as the clock tips over. Both fighters climb up the Octagon in celebration. Some confidence but this one’s tight.

ROUND 2: dos Santos steps up on the attack once again. Kape improves on his defence and thwarts a slew of straightforward hooks from dos Santos. Manic reflexes from Manel as he continues to evade some probing jabs. dos Santos attempts a grapple and Manel fends it off too. He gets dos Santos to the cage and lands a firm body kick. Another exhilarating rounds comes to an end as the fighters prep for the distance.

ROUND 1: Kape floors dos Santos early on in the round but the Brazilian manages to evade the knockout blow and immediately gets back up on his feet. Close. Kape lands some nasty elbows on before dos Santos attempts a spinning back kick but Kape saunters to safety. Kape attempts a kick and dos Santos gets a hold on it and pushes the Portuguese to the cage before tripping over. Both fighters have endured some heavy blows up in the first round and dos Santos ends the round with some smooth striking.

Manel Kape stats

• Tied-fifth longest active win streak in flyweight division
• Eighth-highest significant strike accuracy in flyweight history - 52.1

Felipe dos Santos stats

• 3-fight win streak since UFC debut
• Two wins by KO, three by submission
• 3 first-round finishes

Up next: A flyweight clash between Kape and dos Santos.

Round 1: Austen takes the initiative first-up to push Tafa on the backfoot. And there’s an official timeout as Austen lands a groin kick on Tafa. Austen continues to push hard but he slips. He fails to connect the left hand and Tafa pounces on the mistake to land a nasty blow to the face with a strong left hook and records a breezy KO! Another first-round finish!

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Austen Lane stats

• Seven-fight unbeaten streak.
• Finished all 12 wins; 11 KOs

Tafa takes on Lane in the heavyweight clash up next.

Round 1: Pedro defeats Turkalj by KO (2:12)

Pedro lands a sharp right hand and Turkalj is fledgling here. Pedro closes in with a low kick and boom! A superb left, right hand combo knocks the stuffing out of Turkalj. A first-round KO win for Pedro!

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Tyson Pedro stats

• Finished all nine wins; 4 KOs, 5 submissions
• One of four Light Heavyweights with finish by body kick
• Nine first-round finishes

Anton Turkalj stats

• Finished seven of eight wins
• Five wins by KO
• Five first-round finishes

Light heavyweight Tyson Pedro will face Anton Turkalj in the first main card fight.

As Adesanya gears up for another title defence, here is a look at the “Last Stylebender’s” prolific career.

UFC: Israel Adesanya - win-loss record, stats, full fight list and results

UFC: Here is the breakdown of Israel Adesanya’s professional career spanning across boxing, kickboxing, and mixed martial arts. 

Nigerian-born New Zealander Israel Adesanya will have some Southern Hemisphere support when he takes on American title challenger Sean Strickland in the main event of UFC 293 on Sunday.

The fight at Sydney Olympic Park’s Qudos Bank Arena - across the Tasman Sea from Adesanya’s base in New Zealand - will give the middleweight champion an opportunity to add a submission, or tap out, to his fight results repertoire.

A submission is when an opponent verbally concedes the match due to pain or to avoid further injury. Adesanya’s 26 professional mixed martial arts fights include 16 wins by knockout and eight via decision (along with two losses), but none by submission.

“What do I want in my career? Submission, I definitely want a submission,” Adesanya told media this week. “It might be this fight. I know he’s going to wrestle. He’d be dumb not to. I know he’s going to try and mix it up. He’s doing this whole thing, Man dance, man dance.”

It’s the first time since 2017 that a UFC fight has been held in Australia’s largest city, and the second UFC card in Australia this year.

In February, in Perth, Western Australia, Islam Makhachev defied a sustained challenge from Alexander Volkanovski to maintain his supremacy in the lightweight division.

In the lead-up to the title bout, which is timed to coincide with Saturday night in the lucrative pay-per-view TV market in North America, the 32-year-old Strickland, with a record of 27-5, has claimed he is happy to stand and box with Adesanya, although he believes his best chance is by wrestling with the champ.

Adesanya and Strickland don’t like each other much; both have traded barbs in the past. At UFC 276 in Paradise, Nevada, in 2022, they were only a short distance away from each other, yelling, which started what has become a healthy rivalry.

Should Adesanya win on Sunday, there are a few question marks as to who he will fight next.

The 34-year-old Adesanya was set to take on Dricus du Plessis after he beat Robert Whittaker in a No. 1 contender match, but the South African turned down the UFC 293 fight, citing more recovery time needed and allowing Strickland to earn the call-up.

Adesanya criticised du Plessis for not taking the chance to fight for the title: “He (du Plessis) doesn’t call the shots, I do.”

-Strickland controversy-

Outside of the hexagon, the UFC fight made news in the New South Wales state legislature, where the leading government lawmaker was forced to defend his state’s payment of about $10 million to help ensure the UFC event came to Sydney.

Strickland made sexist and misogynistic comments during a media conference this week, echoing comments he’s made previously.

Premier Chris Minns described the comments as “absolutely appalling.”

“There’s millions of people that love the sport, that follow it and don’t hold those views at all,” Minns said.

-Heavyweights on main card-

The heavyweight bout between 30-year-old Sydney-born Tai Tuivasa and Russian Alexander Volkov, 34, is also on the main card and will precede the title fight. Tuivasa is 15-5 after having lost his last two fights and Volkov is 36-10.

Other important fights: Manel Kape vs. Felipe dos Santos; Justin Tafa vs. Austen Lane; Tyson Pedro vs. Anton Turkalj.

- AP

UFC 293: Adesanya vs Strickland can be live-streamed on Sony LIV and will also be telecast across the Sony Sports Network from 7:30 am IST in India.