“The Last Stylebender” was knocked down in the opening round of the pair’s UFC 293 main event, and went on to drop a five-round decision in one of the biggest upsets in promotion history. Following the fight, the normally media-friendly Adesanya opted to say just a few words before handing the mic to City Kickboxing coach Eugene Bareman.

Now, Adesanya has addressed the loss head on, calling his night at UFC 293 “like a bad dream.”

Speaking on his own Freestylebender Youtube channel with brother David, Adesanya stated that “It wasn’t a nightmare. A nightmare is like, ‘Oh sh*t, f*ck.’ A nightmare is like, you’re scared. It was just like, you try and hit the guy and it just feels like noodle arms. Just like, what the f*ck? So yeah, I just felt like that, like a bad dream. The feeling I had watching it was completely different, and I called Eugene right afterwards and we talked — and same thing, I’m quietly confident.”

Bareman, immediately following UFC 293, had expressed confidence in a hypothetical rematch, saying they’re take the fight the following weekend if they could. Dana White would go on to tell reporters that “you do the rematch” and that it made sense, before a week later chastising reporters for suggesting the UFC would run the fight back, which adding he wasn’t opposed to it.

When and if the rematch does happen remains to be seen as a result.

With that in mind, when asked when he’d fight again, Adesanya played it close to the chest. “We’ll see,” he stated.

“It’s not over,” Adesanya added. “The story’s still being written.”

The former two-time champ, however, appears willing to pursue a third title reign.

“The belt’s never mattered to me,” said Adesanya. “I mean, it does obviously, but how many times have I said it’s just a fancy tiara that brings more money and this and that, rah, rah, rah. That belt’s just a nice accessory. I’ve already got belts, I have many belts.”

“I’m just going to do it again, just for fun,” he finished, holding up three fingers. “Just for fun.”

The post “Like a Bad Dream” — Adesanya Opens Up About UFC 293 Loss to Strickland appeared first on Cageside Press.

Dana White has hinted at an immediate rematch, but Adesanya stayed mum following the fight, and there are a lot of different ways the UFC could go. So let’s play a little matchmaker for the main card winners of UFC 293.

Sean Strickland

There are three real options for newly-crowned middleweight champion Sean Strickland’s first title defense after his dismantling of Israel Adesanya. First is the rematch with Adesanya, an idea that Dana White floated in the immediate aftermath of UFC 293, though he received some fan backlash given that Adesanya is now 1-2 in his last three fights.

The second option is a fight against Dricus du Plessis, who became the top contender in the division after defeating Robert Whittaker earlier this year. Dricus would have been the one fighting Adesanya at UFC 293 if not for an injury which made it impossible and allowed Sean Strickland to step in and become champion. The last option is the winner of a high-profile bout between Paulo Costa and one of the hottest prospects in MMA history: Khamzat Chimaev.

Of these three, Dricus absolutely deserves it the most. He is undefeated in the UFC, winning all of his fights except for one by finish, and is not about to have his first-ever ranked fight in the division, like Chimaev. Chimaev may be the future, but there is no guarantee he will beat Costa, and the winner of that fight will not have as impressive of a current resume as Dricus du Plessis.

Strickland’s Next Fight: Dricus du Plessis

Alexander Volkov

Volkov put on a masterclass in enemy territory at UFC 293 as he beat Tai Tuivasa by submission. As a long-time veteran of the UFC heavyweight division, Volkov has fought almost every top contender out there. The only new fighters he has not fought are Jailton Almeida and Sergei Pavlovich.

Pavlovich is too highly ranked for Volkov right now, but Jailton would make sense if he can beat Curtis Blaydes. Of course, Blaydes could also win that fight, but enough time has passed since Volkov first took on Curtis that a rematch would not be far-fetched. Either way the Russian would have to stave off a strong wrestling attack to get his hand raised.

Volkov’s Next Fight: Winner of Blaydes/Almeida

Manel Kape

Manel Kape was initially supposed to face Kai Kara-France at UFC 293, but Kara-France pulled out with a concussion and so Kape had to risk his ranking against a debuting flyweight from Chutebox gym. Felipe Dos Santos pushed Kape to his limit in a ‘Fight of the Night’ but Manel held on for the win.

Now the only logical booking is to reschedule Kape vs Kara-France. If Manel can win he would have an argument for a title shot in his next fight, but KKF is no easy out at 125-lbs.

Kape’s Next Fight: Kai Kara-France

Justin Tafa

The elder Tafa brother got his revenge after getting eye poked and having his first fight with Austin Lane declared a no-contest as a result. Justin knocked out the former NFL player in the very first round to improve his record to 4-3.

A three fight winning streak puts Tafa in a good position to make a run at the rankings. Up next he should fight someone like Augusto Sakai, who was recently demoted from the rankings— and let go by the promotion off a win. There’s a chance he gets re-signed, and a win against a formerly ranked heavyweight would be Tafa’s biggest yet and would give him a currently ranked opponent next. If Sakai doesn’t wind up back on a new contract, the winner of Don’Tale Mayes vs. Rodrigo Nascimento could work as well. Mayes isn’t ranked at the moment, while Nasicmento holds down the #15 slot in a very thin division.

Tafa’s Next Fight: Augusto Sakai or Nascimento/Mayes winner.

Tyson Pedro

Light heavyweight prospect Tyson Pedro rebounded from a disappointing loss by knocking out Anton Turkalj after Turkalj delivered some unusual trash talk in the build-up. His celebration, a mock sword execution, will live on in viral clips for ages.

Pedro now can focus again on maximizing his potential and shooting for a future spot in the rankings. A fellow exciting knockout artist that Tyson could fight next is Nicolae Negumereanu. The Romanian fighter is 4-2 in the UFC and is at a similar spot in his career to Pedro, making the fight both meaningful and likely exciting.

Pedro’s Next Fight: Nicolae Negumereanu

The post What’s Next: UFC 293 Winners appeared first on Cageside Press.

Let’s take a look at what could be next for the losers of the night.

Israel Adesanya

Not only did Israel Adesanya lose, but he was completely dominated at his own game. Strickland beat one of the best strikers to ever step foot in the Octagon with a simple 1-2.

There are now looming questions about what Israel Adesanya will possibly do next and the options are seemingly unknown at this point. UFC President Dana White said at the post fight press conference that with a fight like that and with it being such a huge upset, you likely run it back immediately. He also had his criticism for the former champion: “Israel looked like he was in slow motion, he looked like he couldn’t get off, he looked like he was really stiff tonight. He looked very slow.

“I think you do the rematch absolutely. The rematch is interesting.”

The majority of fans really aren’t fond of that idea though being as though Adesanya is 2-2 in his last four fights and already had an immediate rematch with Pereira to re-gain his title. Unfortunately though we didn’t get any answers from Adesanya nor ideas of what he wants next, as he sent his head coach, Eugene Bareman, to speak to the media.

The 34-year-old has always been one of the most active champions in the promotion and has always prided himself on that ethic. I think we could see a situation where he takes a big step back from fighting, and takes a considerable time out from the sport.

If that is the case, the division will likely be in a completely different position by the time he gets back, but that’ll only make his return feel bigger, and I’m sure that’s what the UFC would believe too. I see Strickland vs Dricus Du Plessis happening next, with Adesanya fighting the winner. Do I think that’s what should happen, well that’s another answer.

Israel Adesanya’s Next Fight: The winner of Sean Strickland vs Dricus Du Plessis (If that is what’s next)

Tai Tuivasa

The banger from Western Sydney unfortunately couldn’t put it together on Saturday night for his home crowd, as he was finished by Alexander Volkov.

That leaves Tuivasa in an extremely precarious position as he is now riding a three fight losing skid. Because of how big of a personality and fan favourite he is, the UFC won’t let him go, but he now has to pick his fights wisely.

Marcin Tybura is coming off a loss to Tom Aspinall, and that is a fight that could make sense for both in their next outings.

Tai Tuivasa’s Next Fight: Marcin Tybura

Felipe dos Santos

Despite it being dos Santos’ promotional debut against a highly ranked contender, he came in and looked as sharp as a razor. The Brazilian met fire with fire and it resulted in the Fight of the Night and a Fight of the Year contender.

A similar thing happened a few months back when fellow countryman, Diego Lopes took a fight with Movsar Evloev on short notice and came in and cause him a world of trouble.

Because of how well Felipe performed against an immediate title contender, the UFC can see that he is already good enough to be fighting inside the top 15 of the rankings. It is clear to see that the 22-year-old has an extremely bright future in the sport.

I would like to see the Chute Boxe product fight Sumudaerji in his next fight, as that would be a guaranteed banger.

Felipe dos Santos’ Next Fight: Sumudaerji 

Austen Lane

One of the least anticipated rematches of all time came in the heavyweight division as Austen Lane and Justin Tafa met again, after their first fight in June ended due to an accidental eye poke.

It almost happened again in the opening exchanges of the fight as Austen Lane sunk yet another index into the eye of the New Zealander. It only angered Tafa more though and he subsequently knocked out the former NFL player.

A fight between Austen Lane and Jamal Pogues could make sense next.

Austen Lane’s Next Fight: Jamal Pogues

Anton Turkalj

The Swede, Turkalj, seemed to be given a more favourable matchup this time round, as his opening two UFC fights came against streaking Brazilian contenders.

Despite that though, he still couldn’t get the job done against Tyson Pedro who was coming in off a loss to Modestas Bukauskas. Turkalj made it clear to Pedro on the lead up to this fight, that he was going to make him ‘taste the pleasure man’.

Fortunately for Pedro, the only thing thing he could taste was the sweet taste of victory after he knocked Turkalj out after just two minutes and 12 seconds.

Someone else who recently lost and will be on the same timeline is Bogdan Guskov. Why not match them up?

Anton Turkalj’s Next Fight: Bogdan Guskov 

The post What’s Next: UFC 293 Losers appeared first on Cageside Press.

Still, he seemed as confused as anyone as to what happened with Israel Adesanya in the UFC 293 main event. “The Last Stylebender” lost his middleweight title for the second time on Saturday at the Qudos Bank Arena, knocked down in the opening round of his fight with Sean Strickland. From there, while Adesanya appeared to win the second, it was mostly Strickland leading the dance, winning a clear decision after five rounds.

“Israael looked like he was in slow motion. He looked like he couldn’t get off, he looked really stiff tonight. He looked really slow,” White said following the event. And he didn’t appear to have any answers as to what was wrong with the now-former champion. “Only Israel knows what’s going on. I’m very curious to see what he says at this press conference tonight.”

What happens next is the big question. Time off for Izzy? Someone else to challenge newly crowned champ Strickland? For once, White was willing to play matchmaker the night of a fight.

“No, I think you do the rematch. Absolutely. The rematch is interesting. That could be the thing too, when you think about, you’re going into the [Alex] Pereira fight, such a big fight, you’ve been in there with this guy so many times, you overlook Strickland. I don’t know, I don’t know the answer to these questions. But Israel does, and I’m looking forward to hearing them.”

Adesanya won his title back from Pereira back in April. UFC 293 in Sydney was expected to be his triumphant homecoming. It was anything but.

Choosing to make just a brief statement and saying he wanted to be around people who loved him, Adesanya himself did not field any questions from reporters. Dana White, and the rest of us, will just have to wait for his thoughts. Instead, he deferred to City Kickboxing coach Eugene Bareman.

“We’ll find something to add to this camp, and we’ll win the rematch,” predicted Bareman, noting that he had asked the matchmakers for the fight to happen “next week.”

“I’m just very confident that we can change the outcome of this fight with very minor adjustments.”

As for White, he also addressed the presence of heavyweight legend Fedor Emelianenko in EA’s UFC 5 video game. Fedor, as is well known, never fought in the UFC, despite the promotion clearly coveting him.

“I guess he wants to be in the game,” White stated. “Or we paid him an obscene amount of money, I don’t know. One or the other.”

The post Dana White on Strickland-Adesanya Following UFC 293: “I Think You Do the Rematch” appeared first on Cageside Press.

No one predicted a dominant performance by Sean Strickland that would dethrone Israel Adesanya. Few predicted “The Last Stylebender” to be dethroned at all; Adesanya was a heavy favorite, with Strickland a 7 to 1 underdog with some oddsmakers.

But Strickland set the tone early in the fight, knocking Adesanya down at the end of the opening round. Adesanya rallied back to win the second, but from there, it was Strickland backing Adesanya up, leading the fight and doing the so-called “man dance” to the best of his considerable ability.

For his efforts, Strickland will take home one of two Performance of the Night bonuses on the card, despite going the distance in the fight. The other big winner was Justin Tafa, who knocked out Austen Lane in a rematch of the pair’s Jacksonville, Florida fight earlier this year.

Fight of the Night at UFC 293 went to a heated flyweight affair between Manel Kape and newcomer Felipe dos Santos. Just weeks ago, dos Santos was a hopeful on the Contender Series, but with his fight falling through and Kape’s original opponent Kai Kara-France pulling out of UFC 293, dos Santos got to jump straight to the main roster. In the end, Kape came away with the win, and fired off an explosive, profane post-fight speech aimed directly at Kara-France, who was in attendance and threw up double middle fingers in response.

All four fighters will pocket an extra $50,000 for their efforts. Attendance at the Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, Australia was 18,168 — with UFC President Dana White listing that as a sellout.

The post Sean Strickland Bags Performance Bonus After Historic Upset at UFC 293 appeared first on Cageside Press.

The rise of Sean Strickland was halted by consecutive losses to Alex Pereira and Jared Cannonier, but earned his title shot at UFC 293 with a pair of wins in 2023 (and the unavailability of would-be challenger Dricus du Plessis). Israel Adesanya had just earned his title back from Pereira, who had stopped his run of title defenses at five.

It was a perhaps expected start between Adesanya and Strickland, with Adesanya sizing up his distance while Strickland marched forward. Neither fighter was landing cleanly for the first several minutes, with long jabs and kicks from Adesanya being the main weapon of the fight. With about a minute left, Strickland landed a combination that caused the champion to guard up against the fence. Strickland liked where that led him as a huge right hand landed for him as Adesanya was throwing a left, knocking down the champion. Strickland pushed him up against the fence and unloaded haymakers to a shelled-up Adesanya. The champion survived the first-round scare.

Adesanya had a bit more aggression in his approach in the second round, as he couldn’t allow Strickland to dictate the rhythm of the fight following the knockdown. A two-punch combination for Adesanya was the most relevant set of strikes for the first few minutes of the round. A strong body shot also connected for him as well as an overhand right. Strickland, on the other hand, was not able to build off of the first-round knockdown aside from a pair of punches at the very end of the round.

The fight continued at a measured pace as Strickland’s forward movement and defensive approach made life difficult for Adesanya. The fighters traded right hands, but as the round went on, Strickland’s punches were getting through the guard of Adesanya, while the champion struggled to land cleanly.

Adesanya continued to try and find a home for his kicks, but nothing was getting through. Strickland was opening up more as the fight went on and was landing with success. Adesanya did not have an answer for the straightforward approach. Strickland had taken minimum damage through four rounds and the champion was running out of time.

The sense of urgency for Adesanya, seemingly down three rounds to one, was not there. He remained puzzled by the defense of Strickland. The challenger wasn’t resting on the lead either. He continued to bully Adesanya with jabs and clean pressure. With 10 seconds left, Strickland realized he was going to be the champion and began talking trash to his battered opponent. Strickland’s journey to the top was complete. He pulled off one of the greatest championship upsets in the history of the sport.

Sean Strickland def. Israel Adesanya by Unanimous Decision (49-46 x3)

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Volkov, who has orbited the UFC heavyweight title picture for years, was on the opposite trajectory, coming off a pair of wins over Jair Rozenstruik and Alexandr Romanov.

Early on, Tuivasa looked to get inside on the big man, though a brief halt to the action came about a minute in after a glancing low blow. Back underway, Tuivasa threw hands and Volkov answered with a kick; his reach, through the early going, was a major factor, especially when he caught a Tuivasa kick and cracked him with a right hand, dumping him to the mat in the process.

Tuivasa was soon showing a bit of damage, and Volkov uncorked a combination, going to both body and head. Tuivasa employed leg kicks, but Volkov chopped at the Australian’s legs as well, with a little more force behind them. In the final minute, a right hand hurt Tuivasa; Volkov tried for a standing guillotine, and later fired a head kick that ended up being a glancing blow at beast. In the final seconds, another Volkov combination had Tuivasa covering up.

Tuivasa, emboldened by his corner, went after Volkov’s leg hard in round two. Some nasty, quick low kicks had Volkov hobbled, which was opening the door for Tuivasa to get inside. The crowd then came on, though Volkov still managed to land a effective combo. Tuivasa then went to his back after eating a right hand and slipping! Not a knockdown, but it allowed Volkov to land a punch to the gut then get on top. Tuivasa, however, escaped back to his feet after a moment, with half the round still to come.

Another caught kick by Volkov put Tuivasa on his back again. This time, Volkov made it to mount, mixing in a bit of ground and pound while looking for an arm-triangle choke. When the choke failed, Volkov opened up more with the strikes, and Tuivasa gave up his back trying to avoid the punishment. “Bam Bam” managed to survive, however, returning to his back— only to be caught in a rarely-seen Ezekiel choke! “Drago” locked it up, shades of Alexei Oleinik, and put the fight away, forcing the tap!

Official Result: Alexander Volkov def. Tai Tuivasa by submission (Ezekiel choke), Round 2, 4:37

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That first match-up had come in Florida, on Lane’s home turf, so it was rather fitting for the rematch to arrive in Sydney, where fans would be firmly in “Bad Man” Tafa’s corner.

Unbelievably, Lane landed both a low blow and an eye poke in the opening seconds of the fight, leading to a brief break in the action. Instantly, the concern was another fight being lost to a No Contest, but luckily, the damage was negligible. With Tafa none the worse for the wear, things got back underway, and Tafa immediately connected. Lane ate that shot, but he couldn’t handle a second one moments later. Tafa connected and dropped Lane, who laid on his back, dazed. The left hand that put Lane down followed up with blow after blow, until the ref came in to wave things off.

While their first fight had lasted just 29 seconds, this one at least eclipsed the one minute mark, though just barely.

Official Result: Justin Tafa def. Austen Lane by TKO (strikes), Round 1, 1:22

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Pedro added another mark into his win column against Sweden’s Anton Turkalj in Sydney, Australia, in the main card opener at UFC 293.

A 2022 Contender Series winner, Turkalj walked out to the Australian crowd’s jeers, unfazed, looking for his first UFC victory after losing his first two bouts in the promotion. The Australian crowd’s jeers quickly turned to cheers when their hometown fighter walked out, looking to redeem himself from his loss to Modestas Bukauskas earlier this year.

Turkalj opened the first round of the pay-per-view with a couple of fast kicks that were more for show than for damage. After feeling out Turkalj for a bit, Pedro attacked with beautiful, precise combinations that made the crowd go wild. His right hand stunned Turkalj before dropping the Swedish fighter just over two minutes into the opening round.

With the loss, Turkalj falls to 0-3 in the octagon, meaning “The Pleasure Man” may well have competed for the final time inside the octagon. He may also be regretting telling Pedro to ask his wife about his nickname, regardless of how tongue-in-cheek the suggestion might have been. As for Pedro, he bounces back after his loss in Perth back in February.

Official Result: Tyson Pedro def. Anton Turkalj by KO (punches), Round 1, 2:12

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While his fight with Kai Kara-France falling through had Manel Kape fired up ahead of UFC 293, come fight night he had newcomer Felipe dos Santos to focus on.

Ex-RIZIN champ Kape was welcoming dos Santos to the octagon after the Brazilian had been lined up for the Contender Series this year — only for his opponent to withdraw from the bout at the last minute.

The flyweights came out firing in this one, with dos Santos leading the charge early. Kape was happy to let his opponent take the lead, as he scored an early knockdown in the first minute. They returned to the feet where Kape landed a few more shots. Dos Santos started a grappling exchange after catching a kick, but Kape was able to end up in top position with a smart reversal. Dos Santos started getting the better of Kape after they returned to the feet in terms of sheer volume, but the cleaner strikes belonged to Kape. Those strikes notably included a spinning elbow that wobbled dos Santos temporarily. Both men were happy to let shots fly as we headed to the second round.

The output of strikes from dos Santos stayed high in the second round, but he was staggered by a leg kick from Kape. Kape darted in with a hard right hand. The kicks and jabs continued to come in from dos Santos as Kape picked his spots. A big left wobbled dos Santos as Kape was clearly dealing more damage. Dos Santos was clipped by a body shot and went to a knee, where Kape unloaded shots. Dos Santos popped back up and fired right back. The flyweights were putting on a show.

Following the first minute of the final round, things opened up again. A double jab from dos Santos was answered by a hook combination by Kape. Kape was rocked for the first time by a standing knee and his defense was more offense. The exchanges continued as Kape skirted away from true danger while absorbing strikes. To cap off a solid performance, Kape connected a double-leg takedown with 20 seconds left. He climbed up onto the cage afterward to celebrate to the boos of the Sydney fans, who were not too fond of Kape after his beef with City Kickboxing at the UFC 293 press conference.

Manel Kape used the post-fight interview to continue his feud with Kai Kara-France, but ended it with the same slur that was used by Charles Radtke earlier in the night.

Manel Kape def. Felipe dos Santos by Unanimous Decision (29-28 x2, 30-27) 

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