Adesanya vs Strickland

Who won Adesanya vs Strickland?

Sean Strickland beat Israel Adesanya by unanimous decision in their 5 round contest during the main event of UFC 293, on Saturday 9th September 2023 at Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney.

The scorecards were announced as 49-46, 49-46, 49-46 in favor of the winner Sean Strickland.

The fight was scheduled to take place over 5 rounds in the Middleweight division, which meant the weight limit was 185 pounds (13.2 stone or 83.9 KG).

This contest was for the UFC Middleweight championship.

Adesanya vs Strickland stats

Israel Adesanya stepped into the octagon with a record of 24 wins, 2 losses and 0 draws, 16 of those wins coming by the way of knock out.

Sean Strickland made his way to the cage with a record of 27 wins, 5 losses and 0 draws, 11 of those wins coming by knock out and 4 by submission.

Sean Strickland marked his 22nd fight for them, having made his own debut for the promotion in 2014.

Israel Adesanya's UFC record stood at 13-3-0, while Sean Strickland's came in at 16-6-0.

The stats suggested Adesanya had a large advantage in power over Strickland, boasting a 67% knock out percentage over Strickland's 41%.

If the fight went to the ground, their records suggested Strickland had an advantage over Adesanya, with a 15% submission rate over Adesanya's 0%.

Israel Adesanya was the older man by 2 years, at 35 years old.

Adesanya had a height advantage of 3 inches over Strickland. That also extended to a 4-inch reach advantage.

Adesanya was the less experienced professional fighter, having had 6 fewer fights, and made his debut in 2012, 4 years later than Strickland, whose first professional fight was in 2008. He had fought 18 less professional rounds, 76 to Strickland's 94.

Adesanya vs Strickland form

Adesanya had beaten 4 of his last 5 opponents, stopping 1 of them, going to the judges 3 times.

In his last fight leading up to this contest, he had won against Alex Pereira at UFC 287 on 8th April 2023 by knockout in the 2nd round in their UFC Middleweight championship fight at Miami-Dade Arena, Miami, United States.

Previous to that, he had lost to Alex Pereira at UFC 281 on 12th November 2022 by knockout in the 5th round in their UFC Middleweight championship fight at Madison Square Garden, New York City.

Going into that contest, he had beaten Jared Cannonier at UFC 276 on 2nd July 2022 by unanimous decision in their UFC Middleweight championship fight at T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas.

Before that, he had defeated Robert Whittaker at UFC 271 on 12th February 2022 by unanimous decision in their UFC Middleweight championship fight at Toyota Center, Houston.

He was victorious against Marvin Vettori at UFC 263 on 12th June 2021 by unanimous decision in their UFC Middleweight championship fight at Gila River Arena, Glendale.

Strickland had beaten 3 of his last 5 opponents, stopping 1 of them, going the distance twice.

In his last fight before this contest, he had been beaten by Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 297 on 20th January 2024 by split decision in their UFC Middleweight championship fight at Scotiabank Arena, Toronto, Canada.

Previous to that, he had won against Israel Adesanya at UFC 293 on 9th September 2023 by unanimous decision in their UFC Middleweight championship fight at Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney, Australia.

Going into that contest, he had beaten Abusupiyan Magomedov at UFC Fight Night – Strickland vs. Magomedov on 1st July 2023 by knockout in the 2nd round at UFC Apex, Las Vegas, United States.

Before that, he had defeated Nassourdine Imavov at UFC Fight Night: Gastelum vs. Imavov on 14th January 2023 by unanimous decision in their 5 round contest.

He had been defeated by Jared Cannonier at UFC Fight Night: Cannonier vs. Strickland on 17th December 2022 by split decision in their 5 round contest at UFC Apex, Las Vegas.

Activity check

In terms of activity leading into the fight, Sean Strickland had been fighting more than Israel Adesanya.

Going to this contest, Israel Adesanya had last fought 1 year, 3 months and 17 days ago, while Sean Strickland's last outing had been 6 months and 5 days ago.

Adesanya's last 5 fights had come over a period of 3 years, 1 month and 13 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 7 months and 15 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 22 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 4.4 rounds on average.

Strickland's last 5 fights had come over a period of 1 year, 7 months and 8 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 3 months and 27 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 22 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 4.4 rounds on average.

What were the odds on Adesanya vs Strickland?

Israel Adesanya was a 7/50 (-710) favourite going into the contest, while Sean Strickland made his way into the ring at 5/1 (+500) with oddsmakers.