Israel Adesanya's second reign as the middleweight champion almost came to an abrupt end against Sean Strickland in the first round of their clash at UFC 293.
Strickland landed a huge right hand with less than a minute left in the opening round, which dropped 'The Last Stylebender. 'Tarzan' could not finish Adesanya in the round, but the sequence began an utterly dominant performance by Sean Strickland.
Israel Adesanya's attacks were shut down by Strickland's unorthodox defensive style, who landed over 40 more significant strikes than 'The Last Stylebender'.
The new middleweight champion was awarded a 49-46 unanimous decision victory on all three judges' scorecards, and the manner of his win shocked MMA fans globally.
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The UFC's lead play-by-play commentator, Jon Anik, recently reflected on the moment Israel Adesanya was dropped for the first time in his UFC career against Sean Strickland.
Anik noted that a first-round KO win for 'Tarzan' was the last thing he had prepared for, as he said this:
"If I don't use my diaphragm properly in those moments, often times I can come to the brink of passing out and seeing stars. This was one of those moments, where I'm seeing complete stars, feel like I'm gonna throw up because I didn't breathe properly. And I thought that I was about to call Sean Strickland knocking out Israel Adesanya in round one to become the UFC middleweight champion of the world..."
Anik continued:
"Another lesson, like man be prepared to call the sickest s**t you've ever seen in round one. Because bro, of all the different outcomes, the one thing that I probably didn't prepare for was Sean Strickland by TKO in round one."
Watch the video below from 7:30:
Dricus du Plessis on whether he wants to face Israel Adesanya or Sean Strickland next
Israel Adesanya was dethroned in unexpected fashion by Sean Strickland at UFC 293 last weekend.
Given the history between Adesanya and Dricus du Plessis, the general consensus was that he would face 'The Last Stylebender' next, should he have won at UFC 293.
But following the upset victory of 'Tarzan', there has been speculation about where Du Plessis fits into the title picture. During a recent interview with Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour, 'Stillknocks' was asked if he would prefer to face Adesanya next or fight Sean Strickland for the title:
"I want to fight Adesanya, but not as bad as I want to fight for the belt. So I'll make the promise that when I win that belt, [Adesanya] will be the first defense 100%."
Watch the video below: