Largest middleweight title upset
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UFC 293
UFC 293
At UFC 293, Sean Strickland was a massive underdog against the middleweight champion Israel Adesanya. Sean was 2-2 in his last four fights, including losing to Alex Pereira, while Adesanya beat Pereira earlier in 2023 to avenge his loss and win back the middleweight championship. Even though Strickland was the fifth-ranked middleweight fighter, his odds of winning were +500 compared to Israel's at -670.
Sean had to deal with many setbacks in his life on the way to getting this title shot. He grew up in an abusive home, was a neo-Nazi during his youth, and got kicked out of school before finally discovering MMA. That led him to drop the neo-Nazi ideology Strickland learned from his grandfather. Another difficulty occurred after Sean made it to the UFC; he got hit by a car while riding his motorcycle in 2018. It would take two years before he would fight again. He would win five straight fights after coming back before losing the next two.
Strickland would prove the odds wrong in Sydney when he upset Adesanya in a 49-46 unanimous decision victory. This victory became the largest upset in UFC middleweight title fight history.
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Quotes
Am I f---ing dreaming?...Am I going to wake up? Somebody hit me. Literally, never in a million years did I think I was going to be here. Izzy is a bad motherf---er. You don't fight a guy with that many highlight-reel KOs. The majority of my friends, he's beat pretty easy. I was even doubting myself.
Sean Strickland
(Fighting) gives me purpose. If I wasn’t in the UFC, I’d probably be cooking meth in a trailer in prison. I’m grateful for the fans, to the UFC, you guys that gave me purpose. And I appreciate that.
Sean Strickland
I had doctors telling me I shouldn’t fight again, but at the end of the day, this is all I wanted to do,...I dropped out of high school to be a UFC fighter. This is all I’ve done since I was 14 or 15.
Sean Strickland
References
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UFC 293 takeaways: Strickland's major upset continues shocking UFC trend
This event at Qudos Bank Arena was conceived as an Adesanya showcase. Strickland was a Plan B opponent booked for the title fight only after Dricus Du Plessis, who became the top-ranked 185-pound contender two months ago with an upset of former champ Robert Whittaker, could not make this date. Strickland was well down in the middleweight rankings and on just a two-fight winning streak. The American's résumé showed not a single victory over anyone in the top five.
ESPN
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How bad was Sean Strickland's motorcycle accident? Revisiting incident that nearly ended the new UFC middleweight champion's MMA career
As a result of the accident, Strickland's patella tendon was torn and separated from his knee and he had to get surgery. Even after undergoing surgery to repair his kneecap, his leg was still damaged and took a lot of time to get to the point where he could fight again.
Sportskeeda
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UFC 293: Sean Strickland dethrones Israel Adesanya in huge upset, wins middleweight title
Sean Strickland shocked the world on Sunday afternoon in Australia as he dominated Israel Adesanya to become the new UFC middleweight champion. Strickland, who won 49-46 on all three judges' scorecards, closed as a +500 underdog, the largest title fight upset in UFC middleweight history
ESPN
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Sean Strickland details neo-Nazi past, finding salvation in MMA
On a recent episode of The MMA Hour, Strickland shared the disturbing details of a troubled youth that involved a psychologically abusive father and the idolization of a racist grandfather that led him down the path of neo-Nazism when he was in grade school.
MMA Fighting
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Sean Strickland: ‘I’d probably be cooking meth’ if I wasn’t in the UFC
Strickland, who completed a five-fight win streak on Saturday at UFC Vegas 33 by defeating TUF 13 alum Uriah Hall, spoke candidly about it during his Octagon interview with Paul Felder.
Bloody Elbow
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Sean Strickland Is At Peace
On December 11, 2018, just 45 days after he registered a second-round stoppage victory over Nordine Taleb to earn the 20th victory of his professional career, a van turned out in front of Strickland while he was riding his motorcycle.
UFC
