Adesanya vs Strickland Prediction: The Champion Has Nothing To Worry About

UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya will defend his title against Sean Strickland. Their fight will be the main event of UFC 293, which will take place on September 9 in Sydney, Australia. It is a promising event in the country where the champion first won his belt. Here is our Adesanya vs Strickland prediction.

UFC 293: Adesanya vs Strickland Prediction

Israel is full of strength and determination to prove to the fans that he has sobered up after the rematch with Pereira and is now ready to return to that same aggressive and charged version of himself. Sean Strickland is on a solid winning streak but we still feel like he is an outsider in this title match.

Israel Adesanya Preview

Adesanya needed that defeat to Pereira, there is no doubt. He had become too confident and uninterested, and he needed that boost. It clearly helped him a lot. In his rematch against the former champion, he was extremely calm, relaxed, and precise. He controlled every inch and every second in that fight and easily won back his belt. Imagine how strong he will be against a straightforward fighter like Strickland.

Adesanya's striking technique is incredible. There is hardly a more skilled fighter in this weight class, especially now that Pereira is focusing on the higher division. Before he lost the belt, he was destroying every single opponent with a rather pragmatic style and game plan. Fans even started to call him boring. He turned his back to the aggressive style and started looking for the decision. It worked a few times but we doubt that he will rely on that in this particular matchup.

His style includes unconventional kicks, high-precision counter strikes, controlling the distance, and smart pressing. It happens sometimes but Adesanya is nowhere near the old KO specialist that he was in his early years. Clearly, we have some ideas for an Adesanya vs Strickland prediction but before that, let's talk about the challenger.

Sean Strickland Preview

Sean has been seeking this moment in the promotion for almost 10 years, and in all these years this is his 1st title fight. The fighter often excels in durability, applies slow pressure, and surprises with bursts of explosiveness.

But, as always, the problem in a fight against Adesanya lies in the endurance. Sean is unlikely to be ready for the overload and chaotic forcing of the battle that Israel will impose for five rounds. The Champ knows how to work with his lungs, while Strickland relies only on the fatigue of his opponent or his power punch.

As you understand, knockout power and combinations at a close range are what Strickland relies to. And getting close to Izzy is almost impossible. He is a master of keeping his distance and he also has a 10 cm arm span advantage. Unless Strickland gets lucky, we think that Adesanya will not give him many chances.

Israel Adesanya vs Sean Strickland: Comfortable Win for the Champion

Obviously, the easiest Adesanya vs Strickland prediction is the win for the champion. But the odds for that pick are literally pointless. We think that it is better to look for other options. Our favorite one is the Adesanya + Over 2.5 Rounds market. Whether you have it or not depends on your bookmaker. You can even go for the Over 3.5 rounds too or even the Decision win for Adesanya. There are different options.

Overall, we think that any Israel Adesanya vs Sean Strickland prediction has to be in favor of the champion. The odds for Strickland are worth a shot too but the chances are very low. The champ is an extremely smart fighter, probably one of the most intelligent ones in the UFC. He will probably spend a round or two testing Sean and learning his style. Then, he will probably just beat him either on points or through a hefty KO when he catches a mistake. This has been the case in most of his title defenses in recent years. His style makes it easy for us to pick an Adesanya vs Strickland prediction.

• Adesanya to Win
• Adesanya to Win + Over 2.5 Rounds
• Adesanya via Decision