We’ve bore witness to some reality rattling upsets in the octagon the past few years, but Sunday’s upset in Sydney that saw Sean Strickland supplant “Stylebender” might have cracked the multiverse.
What the hell just happened?
We’ve bore witness to some reality rattling upsets in the octagon the past few years, but Sunday’s upset in Sydney that saw Sean Strickland supplant “Stylebender” might have cracked the multiverse.
It’s not that Israel Adesanya was an all-but-invincible UFC middleweight champion. We’re not even a year removed from his TKO loss to longtime thorn-in-his-side Alex Pereira — a loss he avenged just 4 ½ months ago.
But Pereira doing the deed at Madison Square Garden last November wasn’t all that shocking, given their history. Strickland (28-5, 15 finishes), known as much for his out-of-pocket chatter between trips to the cage than for his actual action within those eight walls, was not supposed to beat one of the UFC’s biggest stars.
“Man, I was even doubting myself at times,” Strickland said in the octagon, gold-plated UFC title belt strapped snugly to his waist.
Totally fair. I doubted Strickland too.
Given Adesanya (24-3, 16 finishes) was a -675 betting favorite at some books, I wasn’t alone.
It took Strickland less than a round to make believers of all. Adesanya moved constantly for four minutes, with Strickland keeping the defending champion on the outside and neither man daring to take much in the way of a chance.
With 30 ticks to go in the opening frame, a committed missile of a straight right turned Adesanya’s head and corkscrewed his legs, and Strickland spring into action.
