The Ultimate Fighting Championship travelled to the Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia on Sunday for UFC 293: “Adesanya vs Strickland.” The card featured a UFC Middleweight Championship bout as Israel “The Last Stylebender” Adesanya faces Sean “Tarzan” Strickland.
In the heavyweight co-main event, Tai “Bam Bam” Tuivasa battled Alexander “Drago” Volkov. Elsewhere on the main card, Manel “Starboy” Kape faced off against UFC newcomer Felipe “Lipe Detona” dos Santos in a flyweight matchup. MMARising.com has live play-by-play for the UFC 293 main card.
UFC Middleweight Championship
Sean “Tarzan” Strickland vs Israel “The Last Stylebender” Adesanya
Round 1:
Adesanya stayed on the outside and avoided almost all of Strickland’s jabs as he tried to close the distance. Strickland finally landed a right hook and Adesanya kicked his lead leg. A big right hook dropped Adesanya and Strickland swarmed on him with rights and lefts as Adesanya got back to his feet against the cage. 10-9 Strickland.
Round 2:
Strickland jabbed in the second round and Adesanya landed a few leg kicks while circling to his left. He connected with an overhand right and a leg kick. A hard right hand scored for Adesanya with just over a minute remaining in the round, but very little happened in the final minute. 10-9 Adesanya.
Round 3:
Adesanya mixed up his strikes with jabs and leg kicks in the third round, but he did not commit to any sustained offence and seemed content to counter when Strickland moved forward. Strickland grazed with a right hook and landed an uppercut. Both men connected with left hooks and Strickland closed in with an overhand right. He landed a jab and a right hook before the bell. Close and uneventful round. 10-9 Strickland.
Round 4:
The fourth round opened with an exchange of leg kicks and Strickland landed a right cross. He followed with a right-left combo and a flurry. Adesanya fired back with a lead left hook, but Strickland scored with more hooks and Adesanya covered up as he backed away. Strickland jabbed and Adesanya landed one leg kick. Late in the round, Strickland landed a lead left hook. 10-9 Strickland.
Round 5:
Adesanya kicked the left side of Strickland’s body and Strickland jabbed. He kept Adesanya on the defensive and landed a solid right cross. Strickland continued to jab and landed another right cross. Adesanya’s face became more and more swollen and Strickland kept the pressure on him. A final left hook landed for Strickland at the bell. 10-9 Strickland.
Winner: Sean Strickland by Unanimous Decision (49-46, 49-46, 49-46) after five rounds. He improves to 28-5-0 and becomes the new UFC Middleweight Champion.
Alexander “Drago” Volkov vs Tai “Bam Bam” Tuivasa
Round 1:
Volkov jabbed and mixed in body kicks in the opening 90 seconds as Tuivasa struggled to close the distance. Volkov caught a kick and landed a counter right cross. He followed with two right hooks and another kick to the body. Volkov landed a head kick, but Tuivasa was unfazed and he landed a strong leg kick. Volkov continued to attack the body with a kick and a lead left hook. He dropped Tuivasa with a short right cross and then followed with standing elbows after Tuivasa got back up. A bloodied Tuivasa landed a leg kick and Volkov blasted him with punches to the face and body before the bell. 10-9 Volkov.
Round 2:
Tuivasa attacked Volkov’s lead leg with calf kicks and Volkov began to limp. He still landed two right hooks and a combination, and Tuivasa lost his balance and fell. Volkov hunted for a top-side guillotine choke and Tuivasa scrambled up to his feet. Volkov tripped him and followed with a series of right hands to Tuivasa’s face before mounting him. Volkov looked for an arm-triangle choke, but let it go and continued to punch from mount. He locked on a rarely-seen Ezekiel choke from the top and Tuivasa could not escape, forcing him to hastily tap out.
Winner: Alexander Volkov by Submission (Ezekiel Choke) at 4:37 of round two. He improves to 37-10-0.
Manel “Starboy” Kape vs Felipe “Lipe Detona” dos Santos
Round 1:
Dos Santos landed an early leg kick and a right hook, then a lead left hand. Kape dropped him with a left hook and followed with punches on the ground, but dos Santos recovered and returned to his feet. Punches were exchanged and dos Santos landed a combination. Both men landed leg kicks and Kape threw a spinning back elbow. Dos Santos landed a switch kick to the body late in the round and both men connected with big right hooks. 10-9 Kape.
Round 2:
The pace slowed somewhat in the second round, but both men still landed combinations of punches and Kape countered dos Santos’s forward movement with lead hooks. He stunned dos Santos with a right hook, but dos Santos recovered and the fighters traded power punches. Kape landed a hard flurry that backed dos Santos up against the cage. Dos Santos circled out and the round came to a close after a final striking exchange. 10-9 Kape.
Round 3:
Dos Santos landed a hard right hook and a one-two in the final round, and punches were exchanged until dos Santos wobbled Kape momentarily with a power hook. Dos Santos backed Kape up again with a quick flurry of punches. In the final minute, Kape stepped in and dos Santos landed a counter right hook. Kape took dos Santos down in the final seconds and punched from the top as dos Santos elbowed him his back. Close round. 10-9 dos Santos.
Winner: Manel Kape by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28) after three rounds. He improves to 19-6-0.
Justin “Bad Man” Tafa vs Austen Lane
Round 1:
Time was called almost immediately when Tafa was poked in the eye. The fight resumed and punches were exchanged. Tafa landed a big combination and Lane fell to the ground. Tafa stood over him and bounced his head off of the canvas with more hard punches, which ended the fight in emphatic fashion.
Winner: Justin Tafa by KO (Punches) at 1:22 of round one. He improves to 7-3-0, 1 NC.
Tyson Pedro vs Anton “The Pleasure Man” Turkalj
Round 1:
Turkalj landed a few leg kicks in the opening minute and Pedro circled on the outside. Turkalj clinched and landed two knees to the body before Pedro pushed him away. Pedro stunned Turkalj with a combination and then rocked him again with a right hook. Seconds later, Pedro sent Turkalj crashing to the mat with a one-two and then finished him off with a final hammerfist.
Winner: Tyson Pedro by KO (Punches) at 2:12 of round one. He improves to 10-4-0.
Undercard Fights:
– Carlos “Black Jag” Ulberg defeated Da Woon “Sseda” Jung by Submission (Rear-Naked Choke) at 4:49 of round three. He improves to 9-1-0 with the win.
– Jose “Chepe” Mariscal defeated Jack “Phar” Jenkins by TKO (Arm Injury) at 3:19 of round two. He improves to 15-6-0, 1 NC with the win.
– Jamie Mullarkey defeated John “The Bull” Makdessi by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) after three rounds. He improves to 17-6-0 with the win.
– Nasrat Haqparast defeated Landon “The Lone Wolf” Quiñones by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) after three rounds. He improves to 15-5-0 with the win.
– Charlie “Chuck Buffalo” Radtke defeated Mike “Blood Diamond” Mathetha by Unanimous Decision (29-27, 29-27, 29-27) after three rounds. He improves to 8-3-0 with the win.
– Gabriel “Fly” Miranda defeated “Smokin'” Shane Young by Technical Submission (Rear-Naked Choke) at 0:59 of round one. He improves to 17-6-0 with the win.
– Kevin “Air” Jousset defeated Kiefer “BDK” Crosbie by Submission (Rear-Naked Choke) at 4:49 of round one. He improves to 9-2-0 with the win.