Israel Adesanya’s focus is unflappable going into his UFC 293 title defense with Sean Strickland, and nothing is going to throw him off.
Adesanya (24-2 MMA, 13-2 UFC) was eager to get a fight on the books for the Sept. 9 event, which takes place at Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, and airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and ESPN+. At first it seemed Dricus Du Plessis would be the opponent, but when the matchup didn’t materialize, Adesanya got Strickland (27-5 MMA, 14-5 UFC).
There was a short timeframe when it seemed Adesanya would not compete on the card at all, but he was pleased to come to terms with the UFC brass and get his wish to fight as close to his home of New Zealand as possible.
