UFC 293 Results: Underdog Strickland Dethrones Middleweight King Israel Adesanya With Masterful Performance

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Sydney, September 10: Australia's adopted underdog Sean Strickland dethroned Middleweight king Israel Adesanya in the main event of UFC 293: Adesanya vs. Strickland pay-per-view, which took place at the sold out Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, Australia on Sunday (September 10).

UFC fans in Sydney were taken on a roller coaster of emotions with a blistering card featuring many local favorites who went 4-5 and 7 of 12 fights ending in finishes, including the co-main event with two KO or TKOs and five submission finishes.

The main eventer and three more fighters on the undercard took home an extra USD50K. While Strickland and Justin Tafa, who earned decisions on the main card, bagged performance of the night bonuses, a flyweight bout between Manel Kape and Felipe dos Santos was awarded the fight of the night.

UFC 293 Recap and Highlights

In the main event, UFC middleweight champ Adesanya and No. 5 ranked Strickland started with feints, positioning, each man looking for the technical mistakes to counter.

Strickland landed first with a big knock down at the end of round one; the champ came out of the corner in round two composed and upped his output to tie it.

Strickland took round three with accurate shots past Adesanya's defense while keeping his own tight. In the fourth, both men had flurries go their way, but Strickland dictated the pace.

The final championship round showcased Strickland's brilliant offense and simple but perfect boxing put Adesanya on the back foot the whole round.

When the decision was read, Sean Strickland delivered one of the greatest title fight upsets to become the new UFC middleweight champion.

After the title triumph, Strickland said, "Am I dreaming? Am I going to wake up? Somebody hit me! Never in a million years had I thought I'd be here. Izzy's a bad (expletive). He's got how many knockouts?

"He's beat the majority of my friends pretty easily. I was doubting myself at times, but the fans in Australia motivated me. In that fourth round, when I heard you guys yelling, it fueled me. I want to thank you, Australia."

Heavyweight rankers No. 6 Tai Tuivasa of Australia and No. 8 Alexander Volkov of Russia put on a slobber knocker for the crowd for two rounds in the co-main event.

Tuivasa battered Volkov with leg kicks. Because of the damage, Volkov knew he had to get it to the canvas and he did, wrapping Tuivasa's neck in an ezekiel choke for the tap out.

Following the submission victory, Volkov said, "I knew he was tough, throwing so many leg kicks...but you have to know that I'm from kyokushin karate, and these kicks are like our air. I learned that ezekiel choke when I was really young, so I want to thank (my teacher)."

Also on the main card, Kape defeated Dos Santos via decision after Tafa and Tyson Pedro claimed first-round stoppage wins over Austen Lane and Anton Turkalj in their respective heavyweight and light heavyweight bouts to open the main card.

In the preliminary card, Jamie Mullarkey and Nasrat Haqparast earned decision wins before Carlos Ulberg and Chepe Mariscal claimed submission wins, while Gabriel Miranda and Kevin Jousset also claimed submission wins to open the event before Charlie Radtke bagged a decision win.

Here is a look at the UFC 293: Adesanya vs Strickland final results from the main card and preliminary card to the early prelims that all took place at the Qudos Bank Arena that recorded 18,168 attendance:

UFC 293 Results

Main Card

1. Middleweight World Championship Bout: Sean Strickland defeated Israel Adesanya by Unanimous Decision (49-46, 49-46, 49-46)

2. Heavyweight Bout: Alexander Volkov defeated Tai Tuivasa by Submission (Ezekiel choke) at 4:37 of Round 2

3. Flyweight Bout: Manel Kape defeated Felipe dos Santos by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)

4. Heavyweight Bout: Justin Tafa defeated Austen Lane by TKO (strikes) at 1:22 of Round 1

5. Light Heavyweight Bout: Tyson Pedro defeated Anton Turkalj by TKO (strikes) at 2:12 of Round 1

Preliminary Card

1. Light Heavyweight Bout: Carlos Ulberg defeated Da Woon Jung by Submission (rear-naked choke) at 4:49 of Round 3

2. Featherweight Bout: Chepe Mariscal defeated Jack Jenkins by Verbal Submission (arm injury) at 3:19 of Round 2

3. Lightweight Bout: Jamie Mullarkey defeated John Makdessi by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

4. Lightweight Bout: Nasrat Haqparast defeated Landon Quinones by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

Early Preliminary Card

1. Welterweight Bout: Charlie Radtke defeated Blood Diamond by Unanimous Decision (29-27, 29-27, 29-27)

2. Featherweight Bout: Gabriel Miranda defeated Shane Young by Submission (neck crank) at 0:59 of Round 1

3. Welterweight Bout: Kevin Jousset defeated Kiefer Crosbie by Submission (rear-naked choke) at 4:49 of Round 1