Israel Adesanya to defend middleweight belt vs. Sean Strickland at UFC 293
Israel Adesanya will defend his middleweight UFC title against Sean Strickland at UFC 293.
UFC president Dana White announced the fight Tuesday. It will take place on Sept. 9 in Sydney.
The fight will be Adesanya's first since he reclaimed the middleweight belt with a dramatic knockout of Alex Pereira at UFC 287 in April. That win avenged a 2022 knockout loss to Pereira that saw Adesanya (24-2) lose the belt after two consecutive title defenses. The fight will be Adesanya's 11th straight with a UFC championship belt at stake.
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Strickland (27-5), from Anaheim, California, is the fifth-ranked contender in the middleweight division. He'll get his first UFC title shot after posting consecutive wins over Nassourdine Imavov and Abus Magomedov.
Since losing the belt to Adesanya, Pereira defeated Jan Blachowicz at light heavyweight at UFC 291 in July. He said after that win that he wants to fight for the light heavyweight belt owned by Jamahal Hill, then drop back down to middleweight for a UFC trilogy fight with Adesanya. Adesanya will have to maintain his belt to keep the middleweight championship trilogy alive.
The co-main event at UFC 293 will feature Tai Tuivasa versus Alexander Volkov, a matchup of top-10 heavyweights. The card will also feature Manel Kape versus Kai Kara-France and Austen Lane versus Justin Tafa, White announced.
