UFC 293 is taking place tonight as Israel Adesanya is set to headline the event with his first title defense of his second reign being middleweight champion. “Stylebender” will be welcoming #5 middleweight Sean Strickland to Australia to challenge for the belt.
Adesanya and Strickland have exchanged words for quite some time now, knowing that their meeting inside the octagon was inevitable. Now we get to see who the better fighter is and who will get the last word on Saturday night in Sydney.
Let’s take a closer look at both fighters and their paths to victory, then talk about the official prediction for this main event title bout.
Israel Adesanya–Is This Personal?
When Adesanya is looking to prove a point inside the octagon, it seems like he always puts on his best performances. Looking back at his first fight against Robert Whittaker, then Paulo Costa, and then the rematch against Alex Pereira–all of those seem to have one thing in common: it was personal.
Adesanya has made it clear he wants to prove a point against Sean Strickland, and that focus he has combined with the skill advantages he has over him is a recipe for a tough night at the office for the challenger.
The world-class kickboxing skill set, the fight IQ, the experience, and the work ethic behind a great team and coaching staff is what make Adesanya stand out from the rest. The question you need to ask yourself while betting on this fight is, “what does Strickland do that Adesanya hasn’t dealt with?”
Sean Strickland–What Does He Bring to The Table?
Moving onto the challenger, the main question we have is, what can he possibly bring to the table in this fight? Adesanya has been through the guys people thought could wrestle him; he has knocked the best strikers. Is Strickland going to out-strike him? Will he be the first one to be able to wrestle him and hold him down in the middleweight division?
Strickland is a talented fighter with a mentality that puts him over a lot of the people who might be more technically sound than him. He mentally and physically breaks his opponents. He will put pressure on people until they quit in front of him.
The Las Vegas resident is known to bring the “tough guy” mentality to the UFC and even spars pretty much daily in the lead-up to his fights. But the ground he covers with his mentality and toughness can only go so far when the guy standing across from him is as elite as Adesanya.
Adesanya vs. Strickland Pick and Prediction
The official prediction for this UFC 293 main event is that Adesanya will prove to everybody that he is the best in the world for a reason. Strickland deserves his respect for the work he has done in the octagon, but all the talk and antics he brings to the fight game won’t be able to be there for him.
Adesanya is going to dismantle him early on with leg kicks and his jab; then, when Strickland gets frustrated and makes a mistake, Adesanya will be there to land the shots he needs to end the fight. It would be a moral defeat if this fight went to the scorecards and Adesanya won 50-45.
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