Tag: UFC 293

Israel Adesanya opens as huge betting favorite to beat Sean Strickland in UFC 293 title fight

Israel Adesanya opens as betting favorite to beat Sean Strickland at UFC 293Now officially slated to headline UFC 293 in September, undisputed two-time middleweight champion, Israel Adesanya has opened as a massive betting favorite to retain his championship by defeating incoming title chaser, Sean Strickland in Sydney, Australia. Adesanya, a two-time undisputed middleweight champion and the incumbent gold holder, most recently headlined UFC 287 back in April […]

Israel Adesanya opens as betting favorite to beat Sean Strickland at UFC 293

Now officially slated to headline UFC 293 in September, undisputed two-time middleweight champion, Israel Adesanya has opened as a massive betting favorite to retain his championship by defeating incoming title chaser, Sean Strickland in Sydney, Australia.

Adesanya, a two-time undisputed middleweight champion and the incumbent gold holder, most recently headlined UFC 287 back in April in Miami, Florida – defeating arch-rival and common-foe, Alex Pereira with a thunderous second round KO in the pair’s title rematch.

As for Strickland, the newly-minted number five ranked middleweight contender, has enjoyed a two-fight winning run this year, most recently securing his first knockout win since 2020 with a stunning second round knockout win over the highly-touted Abusupiyan Magomedov at the UFC Apex facility back in July.

And officially booking his first title outing under the banner of the Dana White-led promotion, Sean Strickland has opened as a whopping +360 on many markers to dethrone Israel Adesanya at UFC 293 on September 9. – with the champion currently sitting as a -400 betting favorite ahead of the pay-per-view showdown.

Israel Adesanya opens as huge favorite ahead of UFC 293

A host of markets and bookies are offering prices and odds on Adesanya’s title outing with Strickland already – including numerous websites offering betting online, if fans are interested in wagering on the middleweight title affair. 

Boasting an impressive three-fight undefeated run whilst fighting ‘Down Under’ during his Octagon tenure, Adesanya first landed in the promotion with a stoppage win over PFL tournament star, Rob Wilkinson in a Perth victory.

In a second appearance in Australia – this time in a headlining capacity, the City Kickboxing staple landed a decision win over former middleweight kingpin, Anderson Silva in Melbourne, before tasting undisputed UFC gold for the first time back in 2019 – also in ‘The Garden City’ with a TKO win Robert Whittaker in the pair’s first clash.

As for Strickland, the hugely-outspoken middleweight challenger began his year at the light heavyweight limit – in an impromptu fashion, defeating the highly-touted Nassourdine Imavov in a headliner back in January.

Benefitting from some unfortunate circumstances surrounding the current number one ranked, Dricus du Plessis, Covina native, Strickland booked his first championship walk under the scrutiny of the promotion, as the South African is sidelined amid a lingering foot injury suffered before a stunning win over Whittaker at UFC 290 back in July. 

Sharing his thoughts on his championship return to Australia next month, Nigerian-Kiwi striking ace, Adesanya has further promised to turn in a dominant triumph against Strickland en route to a win at UFC 293. 

“I don’t take this lightly,” Israel Adesanya said. “You guys will see me, see I’ve been working. I’m not underestimating this guy but at the same time, I’m not overestimating him. I want to make this look easy – I’m gonna make this look easy, ‘cause of the work that we’re doing right now. And the way that I’m working right now, I just know.” 

“He’s got a nice guard, he’s got a good jab, and to be honest, [he’s] just crazy,” Israel Adesanya explained. “He’s crazy. That’s the X-factor, but again, so am I.’ 

Do you expect Israel Adesanya to win at UFC 293?

Israel Adesanya claims promotion is afraid of Sean Strickland ’embarrassing the company’ at UFC 293

AdesanyaReigning middleweight world champion Israel Adesanya opened up about the struggles of booking his UFC 293 clash with Sean Strickland. On September 9, the promotion will return to The Land Down Under for a stacked event in Sydney, Australia. In the main event of the evening, ‘The Last Stylebender’ defends his 185-pound crown against often […]

Adesanya

Reigning middleweight world champion Israel Adesanya opened up about the struggles of booking his UFC 293 clash with Sean Strickland.

On September 9, the promotion will return to The Land Down Under for a stacked event in Sydney, Australia. In the main event of the evening, ‘The Last Stylebender’ defends his 185-pound crown against often outspoken and always controversial middleweight contender, Sean Strickland.

Originally, Adesanya had his sights set on squaring off with the division’s top-ranked contender Dricus Du Plessis, but ‘Stillknocks’ was unable to make the quick turnaround after his shocking second-round knockout of Robert Whittaker at UFC 290. It was then that the promotion hit the panic button, searching for the next best option to keep their title fight intact.

Enter Sean Strickland, a fighter who is undeniably talented inside the Octagon, but his penchant for creating controversy with his controversial and, at times, downright vile views on various subjects has made him both loved and hated by the MMA community. As a result, the promotion was hesitant to pull the trigger on promoting him to the UFC 293 main event.

Israel Adesanya Pushed Hard for Sean Strickland to Get the Spotlight at UFC 293

In an interview with It’s Time For Sports on YouTube, Israel Adesanya revealed that it was he who pushed for ‘Tarzan’ to get the nod. He also suggested that the promotion was afraid Strickland would embarrass the company with his colorful commentary if given such a bright spotlight.

“He’s an idiot and you know, the UFC don’t want him embarrassing the company. But yeah, that’s all I’ll say about that so he should thank me,” Adesanya said. “He should really thank me for making him get the fight. I pushed for it, he (Eugene Bareman) knows what happened behind the scenes and I pushed for it and I’m glad the UFC trusted me to listen to me.

Despite the relatively short notice announcement of Strickland’s injection into the main event, Adesanya’s coach Eugene Bareman added that knowing the opponent was never a concern. It was all about making the date regardless of who the promotion put in front of them.

“We concentrated on the date and we talked about that very early on, we’re like okay at this stage, there’s no opponent locked in but it don’t matter,” Bareman said. “Just put a name on a bit of paper and put it in front of us and we’ll be there on the date” (h/t MMA News). 

Israel Adesanya claims promotion is afraid of Sean Strickland ’embarrassing the company’ at UFC 293

AdesanyaReigning middleweight world champion Israel Adesanya opened up about the struggles of booking his UFC 293 clash with Sean Strickland. On September 9, the promotion will return to The Land Down Under for a stacked event in Sydney, Australia. In the main event of the evening, ‘The Last Stylebender’ defends his 185-pound crown against often […]

Adesanya

Reigning middleweight world champion Israel Adesanya opened up about the struggles of booking his UFC 293 clash with Sean Strickland.

On September 9, the promotion will return to The Land Down Under for a stacked event in Sydney, Australia. In the main event of the evening, ‘The Last Stylebender’ defends his 185-pound crown against often outspoken and always controversial middleweight contender, Sean Strickland.

Originally, Adesanya had his sights set on squaring off with the division’s top-ranked contender Dricus Du Plessis, but ‘Stillknocks’ was unable to make the quick turnaround after his shocking second-round knockout of Robert Whittaker at UFC 290. It was then that the promotion hit the panic button, searching for the next best option to keep their title fight intact.

Enter Sean Strickland, a fighter who is undeniably talented inside the Octagon, but his penchant for creating controversy with his controversial and, at times, downright vile views on various subjects has made him both loved and hated by the MMA community. As a result, the promotion was hesitant to pull the trigger on promoting him to the UFC 293 main event.

Israel Adesanya Pushed Hard for Sean Strickland to Get the Spotlight at UFC 293

In an interview with It’s Time For Sports on YouTube, Israel Adesanya revealed that it was he who pushed for ‘Tarzan’ to get the nod. He also suggested that the promotion was afraid Strickland would embarrass the company with his colorful commentary if given such a bright spotlight.

“He’s an idiot and you know, the UFC don’t want him embarrassing the company. But yeah, that’s all I’ll say about that so he should thank me,” Adesanya said. “He should really thank me for making him get the fight. I pushed for it, he (Eugene Bareman) knows what happened behind the scenes and I pushed for it and I’m glad the UFC trusted me to listen to me.

Despite the relatively short notice announcement of Strickland’s injection into the main event, Adesanya’s coach Eugene Bareman added that knowing the opponent was never a concern. It was all about making the date regardless of who the promotion put in front of them.

“We concentrated on the date and we talked about that very early on, we’re like okay at this stage, there’s no opponent locked in but it don’t matter,” Bareman said. “Just put a name on a bit of paper and put it in front of us and we’ll be there on the date” (h/t MMA News). 

Israel Adesanya vows to turn in dominant UFC 293 win over Sean Strickland: ‘I’m gonna make this look easy’

Israel Adesanya promises easy win over Sean Strickland at UFC 293Now officially booked to headline UFC 293 next month in a return ‘Down Under’ for the promotion, undisputed middleweight champion, Israel Adesanya has promised a one-sided title defense against incoming challenegr, Sean Strickland in Sydney, Australia. Adesanya, the current and two-time undisputed middleweight champion, is set to take main event honors on September 9. in […]

Israel Adesanya promises easy win over Sean Strickland at UFC 293

Now officially booked to headline UFC 293 next month in a return ‘Down Under’ for the promotion, undisputed middleweight champion, Israel Adesanya has promised a one-sided title defense against incoming challenegr, Sean Strickland in Sydney, Australia.

Adesanya, the current and two-time undisputed middleweight champion, is set to take main event honors on September 9. in Australia – welcoming the surging, Strickland to this first title outing under the banner of the UFC.

Minting himself as the undisputed champion back in April at UFC 287, Adesanya managed to land a second round KO win over arch-rival, Alex Pereira, avenging a prior knockout loss to the Sao Paulo bruiser at Madison Square Garden back in November.

As for Strickland, the outspoken Covina native managed to land his second consecutive victory back in July in another main event tilt, stopping the highly-touted, Abusupiyan Magomedov with a second round TKO, which followed a prior January decision win over Nassourdine Imavov in an impromptu light heavyweight clash.

Israel Adesanya promises easy win over Sean Strickland at UFC 293

And according to Adesanya, who stressed earlier this week how the number one ranked, Dricus du Plessis may miss out on a title fight with him in his return – he will turn in an “easy” win over Strickland at UFC 293.

“I don’t take this lightly,” Israel Adesanya said of his fight with Sean Strickland at UFC 293 on his YouTube channel. “You guys will see me, see I’ve been working. I’m not underestimating this guy but at the same time, I’m not overestimating him. I want to make this look easy – I’m gonna make this look easy, ‘cause of the work that we’re doing right now. And the way that I’m working right now, I just know.” 

“He’s got a nice guard, he’s got a good jab, and to be honest, [he’s] just crazy,” Israel Adesanya explained. “He’s crazy. That’s the X-factor, but again, so am I.”

Do you expect Israel Adesanya to win easily at UFC 293?

Israel Adesanya claims Dricus du Plessis could miss out on UFC title fight: ‘He’s not calling the shots, I am’

Israel Adesanya claims Dricus du Plessis could miss UFC title fight he's not calling the shotsUndisputed middleweight champion, Israel Adesanya has claimed that surging number one contender, Dricus du Plessis may, in fact, miss out a championship fight when he makes his Octagon return – insisting it is he, not the South African, who is “calling the shots”. Adesanya, a two-time and incumbent undisputed middleweight champion, is slated to make […]

Israel Adesanya claims Dricus du Plessis could miss UFC title fight he's not calling the shots

Undisputed middleweight champion, Israel Adesanya has claimed that surging number one contender, Dricus du Plessis may, in fact, miss out a championship fight when he makes his Octagon return – insisting it is he, not the South African, who is “calling the shots”.

Adesanya, a two-time and incumbent undisputed middleweight champion, is slated to make his return to the Octagon at UFC 293 in September in Sydney, Australia – taking on the streaking Sean Strickland in a return ‘Down Under’.

Winning undisputed gold for the second time in his promotional tenure at UFC 287 back in April, Adesanya managed to avenge a prior knockout loss to arch-rival, Alex Pereira with a thunderous second round KO of the Brazilian in Miami, Florida.

And following recent comments from Adesanya’s head coach, Eugene Bareman, which appeared to suggest that the number one ranked, du Plessis may miss out on a grudge match with his trainee in his return from injury, Adesanya has himself stated the same.

Israel Adesanya claims Dricus du Plessis could miss out on a title grudge match

According to Adesanya, the winner of a planned UFC 294 co-headliner between the undefeated, Khamzat Chimaev, and former title challenger, Paulo Costa – could “definitely” minte themselves as the next challenger post-Strickland.

“Definitely,” Israel Adesanya said on his YouTube channel. “But again, I do wanna fight Dricus (du Plessis). But he has to know, he’s not calling the shots here.”

“That’s the thing, I am,” Israel Adesanya explained. “So, again, ‘My foot was this, my foot was that.’ Yeah – we’ll see.” (Transcribed by MMA News)

Earning the number one rank in the middleweight pile last month during International Fight Week, du Plessis defeated former undisputed champion, Robert Whittaker with a stunning second round ground strikes TKO win, before facing off with Adesanya in a heated staredown inside the Octagon. 

Do you think Israel Adesanya fights Dricus du Plessis in the future?

Tai Tuivasa reflects on brutal KO loss to Sergei Pavlovich ahead of UFC 293: ‘The first hit, I knew I was f*cked’

Tai Tuivasa admits he was f*cked after he was first punched by Sergei Pavlovich at UFC OrlandoSlated to make his Octagon return against towering Russian striker, Alexander Volkov in the co-main event of UFC 293 in September, hometown favorite, Tai Tuivasa has claimed that after his opening exchange with Sergei Pavlovich en route to a first round knockout loss at UFC Orlando back in December, he was essentially “f*cked”. Tuivasa, the […]

Tai Tuivasa admits he was f*cked after he was first punched by Sergei Pavlovich at UFC Orlando

Slated to make his Octagon return against towering Russian striker, Alexander Volkov in the co-main event of UFC 293 in September, hometown favorite, Tai Tuivasa has claimed that after his opening exchange with Sergei Pavlovich en route to a first round knockout loss at UFC Orlando back in December, he was essentially “f*cked”.

Tuivasa, the current number six ranked heavyweight contender under the banner of the promotion, has been booked to make his Octagon return at UFC 293 in September in Sydney, Australia – taking on former Bellator MMA and M-1 Global heavyweight champion, Volkov in a return ‘Down Under’.

Suffering his second consecutive KO loss in his December defeat against surging number one ranked contender, Pavlovich, Tuivasa had headlined UFC Paris in September of last year against former interim titleholder, Ciryl Gane, suffering an eventual third round KO loss to the Frenchman in the pair’s Fight of the Night effort.

Tai Tuivasa reflects on UFC Orlando KO loss last December

And detailing his experience against the surging, Pavlovich last December in ‘The Sunshine State’, Tuivasa admitted that candidly, he was in serious acrimony in the opening exchange with the bruiser.

“That one [fight with Sergei Pavlovich], I was maybe a bit rushed,” Tai Tuivasa told The Halfcast Podcast. “But, I still trained hard. The camp was all right – I was fit. Really, all that fight was down to was who hit who first. And, I was obviously trying to hit him first, but he hit me with the first hit, and I knew I was f*cked.”

“I was just like, ‘F*cking hell,’” Tai Tuivasa explained. “Then I come back and I tired to throw another big hit and then I did this, a 360 spin. I was like, ‘That is not what my head wanted,’ I was already dizzy and then did a full spin. Then it was just I hoped something hit him.” 

Can Tai Tuivasa snap his skid against Alexander Volkov at UFC 293?