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Israel Adesanya and Sean Strickland went to war in the main event of UFC 293 in Sydney, Australia, this weekend.
'The Last Stylebender' entered the octagon as a -650 favorite, but his performance against Strickland was underwhelming. 'Tarzan' dominated from the outset and dropped Adesanya for the first time in his career with a powerful right hand in Round 1.
Israel Adesanya appeared to struggle to adjust to Sean Strickland's unorthodox defensive style as well as his relentless pressure. 'Tarzan' was crowned the new middleweight champion after winning 49-46 on all three judges' scorecards.
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UFC president Dana White appeared somewhat bewildered by Adesanya's performance. He appeared in front of the media at the post-event press conference, where he shared his thoughts on the UFC 293 main event. White said:
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"Israel looked like he was in slow motion. He looked like he couldn't get off, he looked like he was really stiff tonight. He looked very slow."
White was then asked if he thought Israel Adesanya's performance could be due to burnout. He replied:
"Only Israel knows what's going on. I'm very curious to see what he says at this press conference tonight. There are a million things that could go wrong, some days you wake up and it's not there. He looked bone dry when he came out tonight, standing up really tall. Looked really slow."
Watch the video below from 1:30:
Dana White calls for an immediate rematch between Sean Strickland and Israel Adesanya
Israel Adesanya was expected to handle Sean Strickland with relative ease at UFC 293, but he seemed to struggle to find his rhythm in the octagon.
'Tarzan' won via a comprehensive decision, and it appears that the pair will battle once again after Dana White confirmed his interest in a rematch.
White said at the post-event press conference:
"I think you do the rematch, absolutely. The rematch is interesting." [6:00-6:04]
The defeat was Adesanya's second at middleweight. 'The Last Stylebender' suffered his first loss at 185 pounds against Alex Pereira at UFC 281.
