Strickland becomes new middleweight champion, defeats Nigeria’s Adesanya

Sean Strickland has defeated Isreal Adeanya to become the new Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) middleweight champion of the world, with all judges scoring the fight in his favour at the Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, Australia.

The American’s first-round knockdown was the fight’s high point, which lasted all five rounds.

The bout was adjudged 49-46 in favor of American Strickland by all three judges, making him the new middleweight world champion. He achieved it without ever attempting a grapple, using constant pressure and solid, upright boxing.

It is back to the drawing board for Adesanya, the Nigerian-born fighter, as he struggled throughout the clash at UFC 293.

This is Adesanya’s third loss, bringing his record to 24-3 now, while Strickland improves to 28-5.