Israel Adesanya stunned at UFC 293 as Sean Strickland becomes the new middleweight champion

The balance of power in the UFC middleweight universe shifted overnight as Sean Strickland pulled off a stunning upset with a unanimous victory over Israel Adesanya.

Strickland is enjoying a stellar 2023, having won all three of his fights. In January, he beat Nassourdine Imavov, before a TKO against Abusupiyan Magomedov in July. Those victories, along with an injury suffered by fellow contender Dricus du Plessis, earned him the shot at Adesanya.

This was supposed to be a mismatch, with "The Last Stylebender" - the reigning middleweight champion and in his second spell as the champ - being heavily favoured to win.

However, Adesanya was floored in the first round as Strickland mounted irresistible pressure.

It was a big right hand that sent Adesanya down and Strickland gave him no chance to get to his feet. The American threw himself onto the champ and pounded away as the referee let the fight go.

Adesanya made it to the buzzer and came out with new energy for the second round. He worked Strickland's body and seemed to shade the round on points.

The fight was balanced in the middle rounds and Adesanya pushed to the end, but Strickland did enough to earn a unanimous victory on points, with all three judges scoring 49-46 in his favour.

The champion had never really laid a solid hand on Strickland as the American's defence held strong throughout the fight. Adesanya also appeared to be suffering from the punishment he took early in the fight.

Strickland handed Adesanya just the third defeat of his MMA career.

In the aftermath of victory, Strickland was delighted.

He said: "You guys, you know Izzy is a bad m**********r, you guys. You don’t fight that guy with how many highlight-reel knockouts? He’s beaten the majority of my friends [and] he’s beaten them pretty easily. And man, I was even down on myself at times, but I’ve got to thank the fans of Australia. You guys motivated me."

Strickland continued, showing humility: "I give so many brain cells to the MMA gods every day. I thought I'd be walking away a little bloody and broken up, I'm still shocked that didn't happen, this is the first time I'm lost for words."

The new champion had a final, philosophical word: "But remember, this gold around my waist doesn't mean [anything]. What matters is how you live your life, and I'm living better through you guys, for you guys, thank you."

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