Isreal Adesanya Next Fight: Sean Strickland, UFC 293, Sydney
Israel Adesnya has reigned supreme over UFC middleweight division since 2019. Having held the title from April 2019 to November 2022, he defeated the best the division has to offer. However, his nemesis Alex Pereira handed him his defeat in the middleweight division and took the title away from him. But, it just took him 5 months and 1 match to win the title back.
“The Last Stylebender” is now ready to take on challengers in his second title reign as UFC Middleweight Champion. But what fighter does UFC have to offer to him for his next bout? Who will Israel Adesnya fight next? Get details on his opponent, date, location and other information.
Who will Israel Adesanya Fight Next?
🚨 UFC 293 MAIN EVENT IS HERE
— Spinnin Backfist (@SpinninBackfist) August 6, 2023
Sean Strickland vs Israel Adesanya will headline #UFC293 in Sydney 🇦🇺
only a few small details left to be worked out before being announced.
credit @SpinninBackfist & @JackMacCFB pic.twitter.com/zNacBwYnAA
In his next fight, Israel Adesanya is expected to face Sean Strickland next at UFC 293. Dracius Du Plessis become the #1 contender by beating Robert Whittaker at UFC 290. However, Du Plessis is dealing with some injuries and is unable to compete at UFC 293. Adesanya then called out Sean Strickland to face him at the event. Strickland is coming off back to back wins over Nassourdine Imavov and Abus Magomedov.
Israel Adesanya was in need of a new challenger after regaining UFC Middleweight Championship from Alex Periera. Instead of going for a trilogy fight, Periera opted to move up to the light heavyweight division as he was having trouble making weight at 185 lbs. Adesanya had defeated all the other fighters in the top 5 of UFC Middleweight Rankings – Robert Whittaker, Paulo Costa, Marvin Vettori, and Jared Cannonier.
Whittaker has lost to Adesanya twice actually now, but he was still the best fighter in the division after Adesanya as he lost to no one else since 2014. But, Du Plessis, a surging contender himself, broke that record with knockout win at UFC 290. Du Plessis actually also have a grudge with Adesanya due to their verbal back and forth. He is surely expected to face Adesanya in future when he recovers from injury.
Du Plessis is a South African national and claims to be a true representative of Africa rather than Adesanya. Adesanya was born in Nigeria, but his family moved to New Zealand when he was 10 years old and has been a New Zealand national ever since. Du Plessis is also unbeaten in UFC so far with 6 wins in a row in the promotion and a record of 20-2 overall.
Israel Adesanya Next Fight Date
UFC has announced that Adesanya will likey fight next at UFC 293. The event is set to take place on September 9, 2023, at Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, Australia.
Israel Adesanya Current Record
Israel Adesanya holds 24-2 record in MMA so far, and his UFC record stands at 13-2. In kickboxing, his record was 75-5(2 of the losses coming against Alex Pereira), and his pro boxing record was 4-1. Prior to UFC, Adesanya was active with MMA Promotions in New Zealand, Australia and China and won Hex Middleweight Championship.
In UFC, Adesanya has defeated the best in middleweight division starting with Marvin Vettori, Anderson Silva, and then Robert Whittaker to win the title. After a couple of successful defenses of the title against Yoel Romero and Paulo Costa, he challenged Light Heavyweight Champion Jan Blachowicz at UFC 259 where he first suffered a loss in MMA. Back to middleweight, he defended the title 4 more times before losing just his second MMA bout against Alex Pereira. Adesanya has won the title back from Pereira at UFC 287.
