Stunning Strickland claims middleweight title against Adesanya

Sean Strickland came out on top against Nigerian-born New Zealander Israel Adesanya to claim the middleweight title at the UFC 293.

The 32-year-old edged out his opponent in a five-round decision with a score of 49-46 to win against all the odds

AND NEW‼️

Sean Strickland is the new UFC middleweight champion 🏆 #UFC293 pic.twitter.com/EwI1NQnnXG

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) September 10, 2023

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“Am I dreaming? Am I going to wake up? Someone hit me. … I don’t cry much but I’m trying to keep it together right now,” an ecstatic Strickland said immediately after the bout.

Adesanya was the clear favorite to retain the title he won back in April against Alex Pereira, but he fell short against Strickland masterful defending.

The American quickly found his touch and with a string of counterattacks managed to land the more effective shots and deservedly won.

“You don’t fight that guy with that many highlight-reel knockouts,” Strickland said about Adesanya. “He’s beat — the majority of my friends, he’s beat pretty easily. I was even kind of doubting myself at times.”

“But I’ve got to say, the fans in Australia, you guys motivated me. When I’m walking in here and I heard you guys yelling. In that fourth round I heard you guys yelling. It fueled me.”