Adesanya and Strickland feature in UFC 293, a welcome back to Sydney after 6 years

Nigerian-born New Zealander Israel Adesanya will have some Southern Hemisphere support when he takes on American title challenger Sean Strickland in the main event of UFC 293 on Sunday.

The fight at Sydney Olympic Park’s Qudos Bank Arena — across the Tasman Sea from Adesanya’s base in New Zealand — will give the middleweight champion an opportunity to add a submission, or tap out, to his fight results repertoire.

A submission sees an opponent verbally concede the match due to pain or to avoid further injury. Adesanya’s 26 professional mixed martial arts fights include 16 wins by knockout and eight via decision (along with two losses), but none by submission.

“What do I want in my career? Submission, I definitely want a submission,” Adesanya told media this week. “It might be this fight. I know he’s going to wrestle. He’d be dumb not to. I know he’s going to try and mix it up. He’s doing this whole thing, ‘Man dance, man dance.’”

It’s the first time since 2017 that a UFC fight has been held in Australia’s largest city, and the second UFC card in Australia this year.

In February at Perth, Western Australia, Islam Makhachev defied a sustained challenge from Alexander Volkanovski to maintain his supremacy in the lightweight division.

In the lead-up to the title bout — which is timed to coincide with Saturday night in the lucrative pay-per-view TV market in North America — the 32-year-old Strickland, with a record of 27-5, has claimed he is happy to stand and box with Adesanya, although he believes his best chance is by wrestling with the champ.

Adesanya and Strickland don’t like each other much — both have traded barbs in the past. At UFC 276 in Paradise, Nevada in 2022, they were only a short distance away from each other, yelling, which started what has become a healthy rivalry.

Should Adesanya win on Sunday, there are a few question marks as to who he will fight next.

The 34-year-old Adesanya was set to take on Dricus du Plessis after he beat Robert Whittaker in a No. 1 contender match, but the South African turned down the UFC 293 fight, citing more recovery time needed and allowing Strickland to earn the call-up.

Adesanya criticized du Plessis for not taking the chance to fight for the title — “he (du Plessis) doesn’t call the shots, I do.”