By defeating Israel Adesanya to win the middleweight championship in Sydney, Australia, on Saturday, Sean Strickland pulled off a major upset.
At UFC 293, the 32-year-old exhibited consistent forward motion, strong defense, and clinical performance.
The result was a 49-46 victory for the Americans over Adesanya on all three scorecards.
Strickland defeated the Nigerian-New Zealander in the opening round with a picture-perfect right cross.
After being knocked to the ground by the punch, Adesanya went in search of a finish.
Adesanya managed to survive until the final buzzer, indicating that Strickland just missed landing the knockout blow.
The ensuing rounds were close,, but Strickland always seemed to be a step ahead of Adesanya, who congratulated his tearful conqueror after the result was confirmed.
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