The rumors regarding Sydney’s UFC return were confirmed, as promotion president Dana White announced Tuesday that middleweight champion Israel Adesanya will defend his title against #5 ranked Sean Strickland in Sydney, Australia at UFC 293 on Sept. 10.
#UFC293 in Sydney, Australia pic.twitter.com/xVHYTBLqte
— danawhite (@danawhite) August 8, 2023
Adesanya (24-2) was originally thought to be defending the title against Dricus du Plessis, but du Plessis needed more time to recover from an injury, leaving the door open for Strickland to take the fight.
Strickland (27-5) is coming off a TKO victory over Abus Magomedov in July, and called for his title shot at the post-fight scrum.
Adesanya is coming off winning the middleweight title back from former champion Alex Pereira at UFC 287. After some back-and-forth with du Plessis, Adesanya took to Twitter to call for Strickland to get the shot.
Dickless DuPussay. pic.twitter.com/UQwRF2a5tU
— Israel Adesanya (@stylebender) July 20, 2023
Also announced for UFC 293 is the co-main event between heavyweights Tai Tuivasa and Alexander Volkov.
Tuivasa (14-5) looks to snap a two-fight losing streak against the Russian in Sydney.
Volkov (36-10) is on a two-fight win streak and likely will look for a title shot with a finish over Tuivasa.
Additionally added to the card is a flyweight clash between Kai Kara-France and Manel Kape. Kape finally gets a top fight after having to consecutive bouts cancelled.
