South African middleweight contender Dricus Du Plessis was on a collision course for bitter rival Israel Adesanya. After his huge win at UFC 290 it looked destined to be him that would be getting the next shot at the belt. However, Du Plessis was not able to commit to the fast turn around to main event at UFC 293 in Sydney, a card Adesanya was determined to headline. Therefore Sean Strickland stepped up for a shot at the title which many saw as an opportunistic shot rather than an earned shot.
Superb Sean Strickland
The American caused one of the major upsets in the history of the sport Strickland performed immaculately against a true striking phenom in a defensive masterclass. In the very first round Strickland dropped Adesanya which stole him the round. In the second Adesanya bounced back and looked much more comfortable. However, from the third round onwards Strickland was hunting Adesanya down, controlling the centre of the octagon and defending any attacks coming back at him flawlessly. It was an astounding career best performance for the underdog as he deservedly had his arm raised. 49-46 was the score on all three scorecards.
Dricus Du Plessis Reacts
As the fight played out Du Plessis was watching and tweeting his reactions. Adesanya did look flat and lacklustre and many believe that if it was Du Plessis across the cage from him in Sydney then the result would have been the same due to the poor performance from the former champion.
What next at Middleweight?
Now that the top of the division has been well and truly shaken up with the crowning of a new champion, elite contenders will be salivating to test themselves. Post fight Dana White did elude to giving an immediate rematch to Adesanya, but the fans feel that the manner of performance does not necessarily deserve that. Elite coach Eugene Bareman did in fact ask for the rematch next weekend.
Alternatively, Jared Cannonier was the backup for the main event in Sydney and does have a win over the new king at middleweight so he has a strong case. However, Du Plessis has just turned in the performance of his career back at UFC 290 and earned his spot as the number one challenger by beating perennial contender and former champion Robert Whittaker. Furthermore, at UFC 294 Paulo Costa takes on the bogeyman that is Khamzat Chimaev and if the latter puts on a special display he could quite easily jump the queue due to star power.
Featured image credits to Embed from Getty Images
