Three days removed from the main event at UFC 293, the main story in MMA is still Sean Strickland’s impressive victory over Israel Adesanya in Sydney and what’s next for the middleweight division. The result has been hailed as one of the biggest upsets in UFC history, if not the biggest.
The UFC President, Dana White, said in the post-fight press conference that his initial thoughts on Strickland’s first title defense would be to do an immediate rematch against Adesanya. In this article, we look at the pros and cons of said rematch and identify other possible match-ups for Sean Strickland.
The case for a rematch
Israel Adesanya is one of the biggest stars in the sport, arguably the biggest if you exclude Conor McGregor. He draws plenty of eyeballs, and although the UFC doesn’t often release the figures for their pay-per-views, it’s safe to assume it results in a decent amount of buys whenever Adesanya fights.
‘The Last Stylebender’ is box-office thanks to his fighting style, which shares similarities to one of the greatest ever to do it, Anderson Silva. He’s a great speaker, dresses well, and has a large social media following, all of which have contributed to him being the star he is today. Adesanya doesn’t just sell pay-per-views; he shifts video games. Last week, he was revealed as one of the cover stars for the upcoming EA Sports: UFC 5 video game, the second time in a row he has graced the front of the box.
Adesanya is as marketable as they come. Sean Strickland will know this too, and a rematch is the biggest pay-day available to him at the moment, so it’s unlikely he would be against the idea of running it back, particularly with how the fight went the first time. Adesanya’s coach, Eugene Bareman, said in the UFC 293 post-fight presser that a rematch is something he would be keen on. Izzy’s head coach fancies his chances, and so will the former champion.
The case against a rematch
The comments from Dana White regarding his intention to do the immediate rematch have caused a lot of debate among MMA journalists and fans, some of whom feel that somebody else should get a title shot instead. They point to the fact that Adesanya has lost three of his last seven fights and was given an immediate rematch against Alex Pereira back in April this year.
Should the rematch happen and Adesanya win, could the division become stale? There’s an argument there, for sure. It would certainly hold up the rest of the division, as many of the top ten have already fought each other. There could be situations where contenders are forced to have rematches with those they’ve fought already just to remain active.
If Adesanya got the rematch and then won the belt, it could leave the likes of Whittaker, Vettori, and Cannonier in limbo. The common denominator is all three have already fought and lost to Adesanya, potentially dampening the demand for another title fight between them and Izzy in the future.
Other notable contenders
Jared Cannonier
The last man to defeat Sean Strickland, ‘The Killa Gorilla’ won his last fight against Marvin Vettori in June at the APEX, collecting a Fight of the Night bonus for his efforts. Cannonier has won seven of his nine bouts, with the majority of his wins coming against big names, such as Anderson Silva, Derek Brunson, and Kelvin Gastelum. Currently ranked #4 in the middleweight division, Cannonier would feel confident at getting another victory over Strickland, having already spent twenty-five minutes in the cage with him, winning a split decision.
Robert Whittaker
Robert Whittaker was stuck between a rock and a hard place in the middleweight division for what seemed like an age. Excluding his recent loss against Dricus Du Plessis, Israel Adesanya is the only other man to beat Whittaker over the past nine years.
‘Bobby Knuckles’ beat everybody else who stood in his way including Darren Till, Jared Cannonier, and Marvin Vettori, but those two defeats to Adesanya meant it was difficult to present a case in rece for a third crack at ‘The Last Stylebender.’ Now there is a new middleweight champion, things may change.
Of the fighters on this list, Whittaker would be unlikely to get the nod for the first shot at Strickland; however, he’s never fought the new champion, so a potential bout would be a fresh fight for the division, something which some fans have been clamoring for.
Khamzat Chimaev
Sean Strickland is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt, so things could get interesting when a fight between these two inevitably ends up on the ground, despite the champion saying in the past that ‘Jiu-Jitsu doesn’t work.’
Chimaev already has a fight booked against Paulo Costa on October 24 at UFC 294; not an easy bout by any stretch. Should Chimaev emerge victorious, particularly if he wins in style, his name will undoubtedly be thrown into the hat for a title shot, given that he’s such a big name.
Dricus du Plessis
In the aftermath of the result in the main event of UFC 293, du Plessis has come off the worst. Originally scheduled to face Adesanya in Sydney following his impressive victory over Robert Whittaker at UFC 290, ‘DDP’ became the number one contender and had a face-off with Adesanya in the octagon following getting his hand raised.
Injury forced him out of the fight with Adesanya, hence Strickland getting the nod instead. Dana White gave the impression that he was unimpressed with du Plessis not being able to make the UFC 293 card, and coupled with Adesanya being touted to get an immediate rematch, du Plessis may find himself needing another victory before getting his shot at middleweight gold. If that’s the case, it’s unfortunate for the South African, who boasts an impressive MMA record of 20-2 with eight straight wins.
Whichever route the UFC goes down, one thing is for sure: they have a plethora of options. Dana White and the matchmakers now have the difficult task of making sure they pick the correct one.
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