Underdog Sean Strickland pulled off a stunning upset to defeat Israel Adesanya and claim the UFC middleweight title at Sydney’s Qudos Bank Arena on Sunday, winning by unanimous decision on the judges’ scorecards after an enthralling five-round battle.

American Strickland taunted Adesanya in the closing seconds of the final frame, confident of victory after 25 minutes of stalking his opponent, defending brilliantly and using his boxing to force Adesanya to fight off the back foot.

Adesanya, who has ruled the roost as middleweight champ for most of the last four years, failed to find a way to break Strickland down and the 34-year-old Nigerian was caught several times by stiff jabs from Strickland that slowed him down.

“Oh my God, literally never in a million years did I thought I’d be here,” Strickland said in an interview in the cage after UFC president Dana White wrapped the championship belt around his waist.

After giving him a hostile reception on his way to the octagon and cheering for Adesanya, who grew up in neighbouring New Zealand, throughout, the crowd hailed the new champion for his gutsy performance.

“The majority of my friends he’s beaten pretty easily, so I was even kind of doubting myself, but I’ve gotta say to the fans, you guys motivated me,” Strickland said.

Strickland set the course for victory with a thunderous right hand at the end of the first round, almost securing a knockout, and though Adesanya managed to make it to the break, he never really got going again after that.

Known for his creative striking, the Nigerian-born Adesanya became increasingly desperate as the fight wore on and he won only one of the five rounds, with the three judges awarding the rest to Strickland on identical 49-46 scorecards.

-Reuters

Israel Adesanya will defend his middleweight title against Sean Strickland at UFC 293 in Sydney, Australia on 10 September.

Adesanya, 34, last fought in April, beating long-term rival Alex Pereira to regain the belt he had lost five months earlier.

The Nigerian-born New Zealander was set to fight Dricus du Plessis next but the South African is injured.

American Strickland, 32, will be competing in his first UFC title fight.

He stepped up a division on short notice to beat Nassourdine Imavov in January before knocking out Abusupiyan Magomedov in July.

Meanwhile, UFC president Dana White has confirmed Conor McGregor’s next opponent will “definitely” be Michael Chandler.

Ireland’s McGregor tweeted last week calling for a bout with Justin Gaethje, who defeated Dustin Poirier at UFC 291, casting doubt on the matchup with Chandler.

McGregor and Chandler have been opposing coaches on the UFC’s reality television series, The Ultimate Fighter, this year.

“I talked to Conor, either yesterday or the day before, and yeah, he’s ready to fight,” said White.

“Listen, get in shape and let’s figure this out.

“[It’s] definitely Chandler. Conor likes to [mess] with everybody – especially his opponent, or possible opponents.”

-BBC

Canadian  award-winning rapper, Aubrey Drake Graham has won at least $1.8m betting on Nigerian UFC fighter Israel Adesanya to beat Alex Pereira in a middleweight title clash.

Drake placed a $400K bet on Adesanya to knock out the Brazilian. That was exactly what happened as the Lagos-born fighter shook off the pressure of losing thrice in a row to the same opponent to knock him out.

Recall that in October last year, Drake lost $800K betting on Barcelona to beat Real Madrid. The bet was a loser as Real Madrid won that game 3-1.

Drake disclosed his massive winnings on Instagram

In December, Drake again bet $1m on Argentina to beat France and win the World Cup. But he lost the bet as the game ended in a draw before going to extra time and then penalties.

With his winning on Adesanya, one can say Drake has recovered the millions he’s lost so far betting on Barca and Argentina. The question is will he ever stop?