This sport, man. A clean 100 pay-per-views after Holly Holm head-kicked her way to the world title in Melbourne, Sean Strickland delivered a masterful performance to wrest the belt from Israel Adesanya in Sydney. The odds were quite literally against Strickland, a 7-1 betting underdog competing in Adesanya’s region of the world, but none of that mattered.
When Strickland and Adesanya came to the center of the Octagon after five rounds, the scorecards were a formality. Everyone knew Strickland had not only beat Adesanya, but outclassed “The Last Stylebender,” and now, there’s a new world order at 185 pounds. That said, like with any great champion, you have to beat them twice to oust them for good.
This is where we stand in the middleweight division:
Last Fight: Unanimous Decision Win vs Israel Adesanya (9/9/2023)
Next fight: N/A
Outlook: Strickland’s masterclass was perhaps the most shocking in the fact that it played out like most of Strickland’s victories. He walked forward with intelligent pressure, stayed defensively sound and picked his spots to attack. Despite staying in the champion’s face, Strickland never suffered a particularly clean blow. Instead, it was he who landed the most significant shot of the fight, dropping Adesanya for the first time in his UFC career. Strickland’s brash demeanor melted as he saw the belt wrapped around his waist, a surprising babyface turn in enemy territory. It’s likely Strickland will face Adesanya again, and it’ll be seen whether the night was just an off one for Adesanya or the perfect fight from Strickland. The thing is: Strickland doesn’t care, he’s just eager to get back into camp and make the walk once again — this time as the champ.
Last Fight: Unanimous Decision Loss vs Sean Strickland (9/9/2023)
Next fight: N/A
Outlook: “The Last Stylebender” was oozing ease and confidence all week, and for the first four-plus minutes of the fight, he seemed to dictate the action with feints and off-beat attacks. One right hand flipped that script, and Adesanya never got close to finding a rhythm in the fight again. Although Adesanya did not take questions from the media after the fight, UFC President Dana White said a rematch with Strickland is the fight to make. How Adesanya bounces back from this fight is particularly interesting given the nature of the loss, but the 34-year-old has made meals of stepping up in high-pressure moments.
Last Fight: TKO Win vs Robert Whittaker (7/8/2023)
Next fight: N/A
Outlook: Considering Du Plessis was supposed to be across from Adesanya in Sydney fighting for the title himself, “Stillknocks” has to feel a little snakebitten by the timing. While recovering from injury, his window for a title shot might’ve been delayed because of Strickland’s victory. There’s a world in which Du Plessis gets the next shot instead of a rematch between Strickland and Adesanya, but it doesn’t sound like that is Plan A. While it’s unlikely that Du Plessis takes another No. 1 contender fight, it wouldn’t be surprising to see him face the winner of Khamzat Chimaev and Paulo Costa, either.
Last Fight: TKO Loss vs Dricus Du Plessis (7/8/2023)
Next fight: N/A
Outlook: Any time Adesanya isn’t on top of the middleweight division, it bodes well for Robert Whittaker. The former middleweight champion was on his way to building a case for a third crack at Adesanya before Du Plessis stopped him in his tracks. However, that’s all up in the air after Strickland’s victory. Whittaker doesn’t have the inside lane to a title fight, but he is one win away from getting right back into the thick of it. He could face the winner or loser of the Chimaev-Costa matchup or go the Max Holloway route of fighting outside of the Top 5.
Last Fight: Unanimous Decision Win vs Marvin Vettori (6/17/2023)
Next fight: N/A
Outlook: Cannonier was in attendance to witness Strickland’s upset win, and he might’ve benefitted the most from the result. “Tha Killa Gorilla” beat Strickland via split decision to close 2022, so if Strickland holds onto the belt, he debatably has as good of a case for a title shot as Du Plessis. Cannonier was supposed to fight Costa back in 2021, so that could also be a matchup should the Brazilian get past Chimaev in Abu Dhabi.
Last Fight: Unanimous Decision Loss vs Jared Cannonier (6/17/2023)
Next fight: N/A
Outlook: Since dropping his bid for the title against Adesanya in October 2021, “The Italian Dream” has had an up-and-down go of it, splitting his subsequent four fights. Granted, losing decisions to Whittaker and Cannonier is nothing to hang one’s head about, but Vettori received more compliments about his toughness than any contender would want to receive after a hard-fought loss to Cannonier. With the result, Vettori now has lost to three of the current Top 5, so he might need to fight down the rankings before getting his title chase back on track. The winner of the impending Brendan Allen-Paul Craig main event is an appealing matchup.
Outlook: The idea of a new champion cemented at the top throws everything for a loop, but the division was already in an intriguing spot before UFC 293. The tastiest matchup at present is the Costa-Chimaev battle set for next month’s pay-per-view in Abu Dhabi, and that could solidify a title shot for either man in six months’ time, particularly Chimaev. Allen and Craig are a bit further off the mark, but a win for one man over the other sets up a date for the Top 5 their next time out.
