After reclaiming the middleweight strap in April, Israel Adesanya returns to Australia to begin his second reign atop the division with a title defense against American contender Sean Strickland.
Just when it seemed like things were taking a familiar turn in Adesanya’s championship rematch with Alex Pereira in April, the Nigerian-born superstar flipped the script. Backed into the fence and dealing with thudding leg kicks from his long-time rival, Adesanya was able to stop Pereira in this tracks with a right hand off the fence. The follow-up shot put the Brazilian on the canvas and in a flash, “The Last Stylebender” was back atop the UFC middleweight division.
FREE FIGHTS: Israel Adesanya vs Paulo Costa | Israel Adesanya vs Alex Pereira 2 | Sean Strickland vs Abus Magomedov | Sean Strickland vs Brendan Allen
Sometimes “availability” is the best ability, and Strickland’s constantly being available certainly played a part in his landing opposite Adesanya here. Not only has he posted a 7-2 record since returning to action a little less than three years ago, but he’s also jumped into short-notice and low-reward assignments twice this year, winning each to emerge as an unlikely, but dangerous, title challenger this weekend.
Stylistically, this is a really interesting fight on paper because while Adesanya has been criticized for playing it safe at times against some of his previous opponents, Strickland and his pressure-based attack should force the champion to engage at all times. Whether the challenger is going to be able to deploy those tactics and remain upright for 25 minutes remains to be seen, but something tells me this is going to be a more competitive, more thrilling fight than some believe.
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