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The Ultimate Fighting Championship returned to pay-per-view on Saturday, September 9 with UFC 293 in the Land Down Under. The event was held at Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, Australia.
In the main event, Israel Adesanya put his middleweight championship on the line against brash challenger Sean Strickland, who was a massive underdog leading up to the bout.
Ultimately, Strickland was able to shock the mixed martial arts world by dominating Adesanya en route to a unanimous decision victory to claim the title.
Strickland put the pressure on Adesanya from the opening bell and was rewarded with a knockdown after landing a huge straight right at the end of the first round. And despite slowing down in Round 2, Strickland regained his groove in the third and never looked back.
SEAN STRICKLAND APPLIED THE PRESSURE 💥 #UFC293 pic.twitter.com/AJ7lMKqDf2
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) September 10, 2023
Strickland not only won the title, he also earned a $50,000 Performance of the Night bonus for his stunning upset win.
Justin Tafa earned the second $50,000 Performance of the Night bonus for his first-round win over former NFL player Austen Lane, while Manel Kape and Felipe dos Santos picked up $50,000 apiece for Fight of the Night.
If you missed out on Saturday night’s action, we have you covered.
A full look at the UFC 293 results can be seen below.
UFC 293 Results
- Sean Strickland def. Israel Adesanya via unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 49-46)
- Alexander Volkov def. Tai Tuivasa via submission (Ezekiel choke) – Round 2, 4:37
- Manel Kape def. Felipe dos Santos via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
- Justin Tafa def. Austen Lane via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 1:22
- Tyson Pedro def. Anton Turkalj via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 2:12
- Carlos Ulberg def. Da Woon Jung via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 3, 4:49
- Chepe Mariscal def. Jack Jenkins via TKO (injury) – Round 2, 3:19
- Jamie Mullarkey def. John Makdessi via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Nasrat Haqparast def. Landon Quinones via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Charlie Radtke def. Blood Diamond via unanimous decision (29-27, 29-27, 29-27)
- Gabriel Miranda def. Shane Young via technical submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 0:59
- Kevin Jousset def. Kiefer Crosbie via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 4:49