Matches to Make After UFC 293
Lev PisarskySep 10, 2023
UFC 293 took place at Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, Australia, and was headlined by middleweight champion Israel Adesanya defending his crown against Sean Strickland. Adesanya had become a two-time champion in April, regaining his throne with a thunderous second-round knockout of nemesis Alex Pereira. It was perfect revenge after Pereira scored a thrilling five-round knockout in November 2022 to temporarily dethrone the Nigerian.
Strickland, for his part, was a surprise challenger. Most expected Dricus Du Plessis to fight for the title after having knocked out former champion Robert Whittaker, a man some felt deserved the nod over Adesanya in their rematch. Yet, despite a heated confrontation between du Plessis and Adesanya after that fight, Dana White passed over du Plessis as the South African was injured and unable to compete in a title match an absurd seven weeks after the Whittaker win. Strickland came into the fight 2-2 in his last four, having been knocked out in the first round by Pereira, losing a split decision to Jared Cannonier that could have gone either way, soundly outpointing upstart Nassourdine Imavov, and then knocking out Abus Magomedov, who had no energy left after the first round.
And yet, Strickland didn't let long odds or an abbreviated training camp stop him. At the end of the first round, Strickland starched Adesanya with a huge right cross, dropping the champion and very nearly finishing him with follow-up blows. Adesanya survived, but over the next four rounds, Strickland walked forward, using expert blocking and head movement to avoid Adesanya's punches to the head, checking his leg kicks, and landing punches of his own that were not only harder, but far more accurate. Adesanya was on his back foot retreating but just couldn't generate much offense. Strickland became the surprising new champion, taking the decision 49-46 across the board.
In the co-main, heavyweight strikers collided when Aussie fan favorite Tai Tuivasa faced Russian Alexander Volkov. Tuivasa entered the bout with a two-fight losing streak, being knocked out by Ciryl Gane at the end of the third in a thrilling affair where Tuivasa had him badly hurt before being brutally beaten down by another Russian in Sergey Pavlovich in just 54 seconds. Volkov was 3-1 in his last four, being submitted in the first round by the superb Tom Aspinall, but easily defeating two other top grapplers with a first-round knockout of Alexander Romanov and one-sided decision over Marcin Tybura, as well as punching out dangerous striker Jairzinho Rozenstruik in just over 2 minutes. Volkov continued his success in this fight, nearly finishing Tuivasa with strikes at the end of the opening round before taping him with a rare ezekiel choke submission near the end of the second stanza. This is only the fourth submission win of Volkov's 37 victories, as well as the second straight time that Tuivasa has been stopped by a Russian in the cage.
Elsewhere, former Rizin Fighting Federation champion and flyweight knockout artist Manel Kape fought late replacement Felipe dos Santos, filling in for injured Kai Kara-France. Kape took all three rounds, handing the Brazilian the first loss of his career.
With the event over, here are several interesting future contests which can be booked:
There are a number of intriguing options for the new UFC middleweight king Strickland. However, the best is the undefeated top contender du Plessis, who absolutely deserves a title shot after destroying then No. 1 contender Robert Whittaker. This would be a highly intriguing fight and worthy pay-per-view main event. I have no idea who wins either, with Plessis' deceptively deadly striking, powerful wrestling and ground-and-pound clashing with Strickland's superb jab, fundamentals and striking defense along with his strong takedown defense. This could well be a five-round war with constant shifts in momentum. I would much rather see this than a rematch of Strickland and Adesanya, as the new champion has seemingly discovered the blueprint for victory, and the former champion has now lost two of his last three.
Volkov is No. 7 and just stopped No. 6 Tuivasa, but it's unclear who he should fight next. Jones and Miocic are scheduled to fight one another for the belt. Pavlovich is the No. 1 contender and patiently waiting for his own opportunity. Volkov has already lost fairly recently against Gane and Aspinall. That leaves only No. 5 Blaydes. Volkov has lost to him as well, but the fight occurred over three years ago and was very close, with Blaydes winning the first three rounds with his wrestling and takedowns before losing the last two as he didn't have enough energy left to grapple effectively. Moreover, Volkov's own grappling has improved a lot since then, evident not only in easily thwarting the efforts of top grapplers in Tybura and Romanov, but in tapping Tuivasa tonight. This would also be an important contenders' match, with both men still relatively young by heavyweight standards. The winner should get a shot at another elite contender.
Tuivasa is a fan favorite but as the last three fights have made clear, not a top contender, lacking defense against strikes as well as grappling. Thus, why not book an exciting slugfest between two heavyweight knockout artists and have him face Rozenstruik? The fighter from Suriname is in a similar situation, having once been a Top 5 contender thanks to his iron fists before a series of losses proved that he is too vulnerable to grappling and skilled striking alike. Tuivasa versus Rozenstruik could well be a barn-burner, a wonderfully exciting affair for however long it lasts, and possibly still a main event for a Fight Night card. Not to mention the possibility of a huge, highlight reel knockout by either man!
Kape's win will likely do little to change his No. 10 ranking. Moreover, a fight against No. 5 Kara-France is as enticing as ever, especially since Kape exchanged bitter words with Kara-France's teammate Adesanya at the press conference. The fight originally booked for UFC 293 will still be a tremendous battle between two outstanding strikers and knockout artists, with the winner propelled back into elite title contention. Whether this battle occurs in front of an Australian crowd or not, I would love to see it happen soon.