UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya will tangle with No. 5 ranked Sean Strickland in the main event at UFC 293. The five-round title bout will take place on Saturday, September 9, at the Quodos Bank Arena in Sydney, Australia.
Adesanya (24-2 MMA, 13-2 UFC) avenged a 2022 title loss to Alex Pereira in April to regain the middleweight belt. He is 4-1 in his last five fights and boasts wins over two men who defeated Strickland, Pereira and Jared Cannonier.
Strickland (27-5 MMA, 14-5 UFC) has notched victories over Abusupiyan Magomedov (TKO) and Nassourdine Imavov (Decision) after back-to-back losses to Pereira and Cannonier last year. He has posted eight wins in his previous ten fights.
Adesanya (-600) is a decisive favorite to retain his title against Strickland (+425), per BetMGM New York sportsbook.
The Nigerian is arguably the greatest pressure fighter in the sport today, and his dynamic, hands-down style of striking will earn him the win over the challenger. However, the American possesses elite defensive skills and an effective jab and right cross.
Adesanya is a potent striker with both his hands and feet and has an impressive 70 percent knockout rate compared to Strickland's 42 percent rate. The 34-year-old holds the UFC record for most knockdowns - four - in a title fight and is tied with Anderson Silva for most knockdowns (13) in middleweight history.
The 'Last Stylebender' is also one of the most accurate strikers in mixed martial arts history. He is third all-time among middleweights with 976 significant strikes and lands 3.94 per minute. But his grappling skills are suspect, and his 14 percent takedown average pales compared to Strickland's 64 percent takedown rate.
The champion has called the challenger an "idiot" before their title fight this weekend and plans on taking great pleasure in disposing of Strickland in spectacular fashion.
"Yes, this
UFC Featherweight Champion Alexander Volkanovski also believes that Strickland's outlandish comments will come back to haunt him.
"Obviously, Sean is gonna talk, Sean is gonna try and get under his skin. So that's gonna make it fun," noted the Aussie titleholder. "But I feel Izzy is going to really, really put it on him. Especially with the talk that's gonna happen. I think Sean Strickland is gonna definitely pay for some of the things he's gonna say. Stylistically, I feel like he's definitely gonna get hurt."
Strickland is an intelligent fighter who forces opponents to adapt to his fighting style and is adept at exploiting their mistakes. He has won 42 percent of his fights by knockouts and the same rate by decision wins.
The 32-year-old connects on an impressive 5.86 significant strikes per minute and lands 41 percent of his significant strike attempts. He has a massive advantage over Adesanya on the mat and understands that his grappling skills are his best avenue to winning the middleweight belt.
A volume striker, 'Tarzan' has thrown the third-highest rate of significant strikes in the middleweight division. However, this style of attack will be risky against a fighter like Adesanya, whose arsenal includes lethal head strikes, body shots, and leg kicks.
Betting Pick: Israel Adesanya
The most prevalent bet type for this UFC fight is the moneyline, betting on who will win the fight outright.
Given his impressive streak of 11 straight five-round fights, usually the main event, and his victories in eight middleweight title fights, Adesanya is our pick. A $100 wager on Adesanya at odds of -600 would net a profit of approximately $17, for a total payout of $117.
The Over/Under bet is another popular type, where you wager on the number of rounds the fight will last. Although Adesanya has a knack for delivering significant strikes and kicks, this fight will probably not end early due to Strickland's elite ability to thwart his opponent's significant strike attempts.
If we consider that Strickland is arguably the best at 185 pounds at avoiding punches and kicks coming his way, we might expect the fight to last three complete rounds. Thus, betting Over 3.0 rounds could be a winning pick.
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The five-round middleweight championship fight will take place on Saturday, September 9, at the Quodos Bank Arena in Sydney, Australia. UFC fans in New York can watch the fight live on ESPN+ pay-per-view.
UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya is a heavy favorite to prevail over No. 5 ranked contender Sean Strickland at UFC 293. Adesanya is a -600 betting favorite, while Strickland is the +425 underdog, per BetMGM.
A pair of knockout artists, #6 Tai Tuivasa (15-5-0) and #7 Alexander Volkov (36-10-0), will meet in a heavyweight co-main event. #10 Manel Kape (18-6-0) will battle the debuting Felipe Dos Santos (0-0-0) in a flyweight bout, while Justin Tafa (6-3-0) and Austen Lane (12-3-0) are both looking to move up the heavyweight ranks. Finally, Tyson Pedro (9-4-0) will clash with Anton Turkalj (8-2-0) in a light heavyweight matchup.
Bets can be placed during the fight as it is happening with live UFC odds that are constantly changing based on what's happening in real-time inside the Octagon. The most popular types of in-play bettings are moneyline wagers representing the odds for who will win the fight outright. Other live betting types include the method of victory and how long the fight will last.
For mixed martial arts fans, WynnBet and BetMGM are popular sportsbooks where they can place wagers on this exciting middleweight championship bout.
