It’s On! Strickland Challenges Adesanya At UFC 293

Sean Strickland is finally getting his title shot.

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) President, Dana White, announced today (Tues., Aug. 8, 2023, that UFC 293’s main event will see the Middleweight champion, Israel Adesanya (24-2), defend against the No. 5-ranked contender, Sean Strickland (27-5), in Sydney, Australia on Sept. 10, 2023.

The booking comes after a tumultuous summer of speculation after Dricus Du Plessis’ big upset win over Robert Whittaker at UFC 290 last month (July 8, 2023). Du Plessis’ second round technical knockout (watch highlights) of “The Reaper” positioned him firmly as the new No. 1-ranked contender. He and Adesanya had already begun building an intense rivalry, and that boiled over in the Octagon following the win.

Unfortunately for Du Plessis, a foot injury suffered before the Whittaker win will now require some time to heal, preventing the South African from making the quick title shot turnaround.

Strickland, 32, will take Du Plessis’ spot fresh off two strong victories over Nassourdine Imavov and Abus Magomedov, the latter of which he finished with strikes in round two (watch highlights). This will be Strickland’s first mixed martial arts (MMA) fight outside the United States.

Adesanya will seek the first title defense of his second career reign with UFC gold at UFC 293. He reclaimed the divisional throne with a second round knockout in his MMA rematch against Alex Pereira at UFC 287 this past April 2023 (watch highlights).

The current 11-fight UFC 293 lineup can be seen below.

• 185lbs.: (C)Israel Adesanya vs. Sean Strickland
• 265lbs.: Tai Tuivasa vs. Alexander Volkov
• 155lbs.: Jamie Mullarkey vs. John Makdessi
• 125lbs.: Kai Kara-France vs. Manel Kape
• 205lbs.: Carlos Ulberg vs. Da-un Jung
• 205lbs.: Tyson Pedro vs. Anton Turkalj
• 265lbs.: Justin Tafa vs. Austen Lane
• 145lbs.: Jack Jenkins vs. Chepe Mariscal
• 145lbs.: Shane Young vs. Gabriel Miranda
• 170lbs.: Mike Diamond vs. Charlie Radtke
• 125lbs.: Viviane Araujo vs. Jennifer Maia