Sean Strickland has shocked the world. Last night he became the new UFC Middleweight Champion of the World by beating Israel Adesanya in Sydney, Australia. Both fighters are quite the characters with totally different fighting styles. Strickland stuck to his guns and damn near ended the fight in the first round with a huge right hand that knocked Adesanya down. In a way, he gave Adesanya a taste of his own medicine. For the rest of the fight he simply stifled Adesanya. I don't know a whole bunch about the details of striking, but Strickland controlled the octagon all night by not giving Adesanya any room to work. After the fifth and final round it was obvious who the victor was. Some people may have thought the fight wasn't very exciting due to there not being a ton of action, but I thought it was an incredible chess match that Adesanya just could not figure out. He was graceful in defeat and I wouldn't be surprised if he had some kind of fun in the loss. I plan on watching both fighters' press conferences and also Dana White's. I would imagine Strickland had plenty to say and I'm curious as to how he is taking the win. He has said that he isn't totally motivated by the belt. He could care less, he just loves to fight. He wasn't even supposed to be fighting, really. A higher ranked opponent actually turned the fight down and Strickland took advantage of the opportunity of a lifetime. To me, the fight was a metaphor in many ways. Show up every day no matter what. Look the other man in the eye and give it everything you've got. Be yourself, apologetically. There is a reason why they fight the fight. Anything can happen. Peace.
