Israel Adesanya vs Strickland: 3 reasons why Stylebender lost at UFC 293

Adesanya received a wake-up call in the opening round even though he was predicted to breeze through Strickland. Image Credit - TNT Sports/X

Israel Adesanya vs Strickland: 3 reasons why Stylebender lost at UFC 293

Tosin Abayomi 10:35 - 10.09.2023

Du Plessis pulling out, China and Australia baggage, Here are 3 reasons why Israel Adesany lost to Sean Strickland in the main event of UFC 293.

At UFC 293 from the Qudos Bank Arena in Australia, Sean Strickland stunned everyone by defeating Israel Adesanya in a unanimous decision to capture the middleweight championship.

In a lengthy line of instances, Strickland has proven that anything can happen in the UFC.

Adesanya received a wake-up call in the opening round even though he was predicted to breeze through Strickland.

Strickland was aggressive and his crisp right-hand knockdown of Adesanya in the first round definitely got people's attention.

Although the rounds were close, Strickland's volume and pressure prevailed.

There was a general belief going into the fifth round that Strickland had the advantage and that Adesanya would need to finish.

Adesanya has devastating knockout power as we have seen over the course of his career from kickboxing to mixed martial arts. - Image Credit - Imago
Adesanya has devastating knockout power as we have seen over the course of his career from kickboxing to mixed martial arts. - Image Credit - Imago

The knockout punch from Adesanya never came as Strickland's pressure ultimately won out and he is now the middleweight champion.

3 Reasons why Adesanya lost to Strickland

Adesanya was expected to have a knockout victory against Strickland but was unable to get settled.

We have already taken a look at the top three mistakes Adesanya made in the loss to Strickland.

Now we dissect the top three reasons why Adesanya lost the fight.

Du Plessis takes issue with Adesanya, Usman, and Ngannou claiming Africa while training and residing abroad, despite the fact that they were all born in Africa.
Du Plessis takes issue with Adesanya, Usman, and Ngannou claiming Africa while training and residing abroad, despite the fact that they were all born in Africa.

1 Adesanya lost the fight to Strickland because Du Plessis pulled out

There is an argument to be made that Adesanya was not mentally prepared to face Strickland.

Let's go back to how the sixth-ranked contender Strickland got the opportunity to face Adesanya.

The winner of the co-main event of UFC 290 between Robert Whittaker and Dricus Du Plessis earlier this year was scheduled to meet Adesanya.

Israel Adesanya had harsh words for South African contender Dricus Du Plessis
Israel Adesanya had harsh words for South African contender Dricus Du Plessis

When Du Plessis defeated Whittaker in anticipation of a meeting with Adesanya, the last stylebender was seated ringside.

Adesanya already defeated Whittaker twice and was hoping for a Du Plessis win to face a different opponent.

Adesanya was born in Nigeria and was angered by South Africa's Du Plessis' claim that he wasn't "a real African"

Adesanya, 'The Last Stylebender' failed to defend the title against Strickland and here are three mistakes he made at UFC 293 Image Credit - Imago
Adesanya, 'The Last Stylebender' failed to defend the title against Strickland and here are three mistakes he made at UFC 293 Image Credit - Imago

The middleweight championship match between Du Plessis and Adesanya appeared to be the main event of UFC 293 in Sydney, Australia.

According to Du Plessis, a foot issue prevented him from competing which meant a change of plans.

Adesanya had defeated the top 5 in the division which meant Strickland had to step up.

A few body blows would have served as a deterrent to Strickland and could eventually have won Adesanya some rounds instead of backpedaling for the majority of the fight. Image Credit - Imago
A few body blows would have served as a deterrent to Strickland and could eventually have won Adesanya some rounds instead of backpedaling for the majority of the fight. Image Credit - Imago

Therefore, Strickland, not Du Plessis, will contend for the title on Saturday.

Adesanya's mindest was an African derby against Du Plessis which excuses a lack of focus on the replacement Strickland.

Adesanya thinks Strickland will present a distinct side of himself on stage before shifting when they interact privately. Image Credit - Instagram/Israel Adesanya
Adesanya thinks Strickland will present a distinct side of himself on stage before shifting when they interact privately. Image Credit - Instagram/Israel Adesanya

2 Adesanya bought into the pre-fight baggage with Strickland

Ahead of the fight, there was a back-and-forth between Adesanya and Strickland.

Moving on from Du Plessis, Strickland made the fight about several factors off the octagon.

Strickland took issue with middleweight champion Adesanya's reputation for maintaining his appearance and painting his nails.

The next contender for the middleweight belt, Sean Strickland, has previously taken issue with middleweight champion Adesanya's reputation for maintaining his appearance and painting his nails. Image Credit - Twitter/Israel Adesanya
The next contender for the middleweight belt, Sean Strickland, has previously taken issue with middleweight champion Adesanya's reputation for maintaining his appearance and painting his nails. Image Credit - Twitter/Israel Adesanya

Adesanya therefore was engaged in a war of words stating whether or not he had painted nails Strickland would be defeated.

All that resulted in pre-fight baggage unnecessary for the fight.

Strickland kept Adesanya on his heels as the champion refused to let his hands go in exchanges. Image Credit - X/UFC
Strickland kept Adesanya on his heels as the champion refused to let his hands go in exchanges. Image Credit - X/UFC

3 Adesanya and outside factors

Adesanya became UFC Middleweight champion when he defeated Whittaker in Australia.

On his return to Australia, there was pressure on Adesanya to have a repeat performance.

It also did not help that Adesanya claims to hail from New Zealand hence there were boos from the Australian crowd.

A video of Adesanya waving the Chinese flag has gone viral Image Credit - Instagram/Israel Adesanya
A video of Adesanya waving the Chinese flag has gone viral Image Credit - Instagram/Israel Adesanya

Also, Adesanya before the fight had to give out an explanation as to why he was holding a Chinese flag in a viral video.

He bought into it and stated he would be wearing red shorts for the fight against Strickland.

All these outside factors along with the fact that he was named the cover athlete for the new UFC 5 Game were distractions Adesanya could do without going into the fight.

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