Welp… it’s finally been confirmed. Middleweight king Israel Adesanya will defend his title against #5 division contender Sean Strickland at Sydney’s much-hyped UFC 293.
As Strickland himself had remarked upon just weeks ago, there was a concerning amount of uncertainty in the lead-up to this announcement given the pay-per-view event still hadn’t locked in a headline bout just weeks away from going down.
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While Adesanya’s South African nemesis in Dricus du Plessis had ostensibly earned the next shot at the belt after his second-round TKO victory against Australia’s very own Robert Whittaker at UFC 291, the rapid turnaround post-International Fight Week (2023) simply proved too impractical. Hence Sean Strickland. Side note: the press conference is gonna be wild.
The Last Stylebender and Tarzan join a card positively stacked with ANZ mixed martial artists; ranging from beloved Western Sydney banger and shooey connoisseur Tai Tuivasa — who recently vowed to “take [Alexander Volkov’s] head off in conversation with BH (see: below) — Jamie Mullarkey, and Kai Kara-France, to Carlos Ulberg, Tyson Pedro, and rising Melbourne star Jack Jenkins.
The last time the world’s leading MMA promotion hit Sydney was in late 2017 for UFC Fight Night: Fabricio Werdum vs Marcin Tybura, held in the Qudos Bank Arena. Just to give you a reference for how long ago that was, Tai Tuivasa threw hands in the preliminary card while Alexander Volkanovski stepped into the Octagon for the main card’s lowest-billed bout.
Check out what we know about the UFC 293 card below.
UFC 293 Card
- Israel Adesanya [C] vs Sean Strickland — Middleweight Title Fight
- Tai Tuivasa vs Alexander Volkov — Heavyweight Bout
- Jamie Mullarkey vs John Makdessi — Lightweight Bout
- Kai Kara-France vs Manel Kape — Flyweight Bout
- Carlos Ulberg vs Dan Woon Jung — Light Heavyweight Bout
- Tyson Pedro vs Anton Turkalj — Light Heavyweight Bout
- Jack Jenkins vs Chepe Mariscal — Featherweight Bout
- Shane Young vs Gabriel Miranda — Featherweight Bout
- Mike Diamond vs Charlie Radtke — Welterweight Bout
- Viviane Araujo vs Case O’Neill — Women’s Flyweight Bout
UFC 293 Start Time (Australia)
The main event of UFC 293: Israel Adesanya vs Sean Strickland is scheduled to go down at Sydney’s Qudos Bank Arena on Sunday, September 10 at 12 PM AEST / 10 AM AWST.
The preliminary card, on the other hand, starts at 10 AM AEST / 8 AM AWST, following the early prelims which begin at 8 AM AEST / 6 AM AWST — live-streamed for free on UFC Fight Pass and Kayo.
The pay-per-view element, however, will cost you $59.95 here in Australia. No UFC Fight Pass or Kayo subscription is required to purchase.
