Israel Adesanya’s next middleweight title defense won’t be against the opponent he wanted, but it will be on the date he wanted.
After Dricus Du Plessis became unavailable due to a lingering injury, Adesanya (24-2 MMA, 13-2 UFC) will now attempt to make the first defense of his second 185-pound title reign against Sean Strickland (27-5 MMA, 14-5 UFC) in the main event of UFC 293. UFC president Dana White announced the fight on Tuesday.
UFC 293 takes place Sept. 9 at Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims expected on ESPN and ESPN+.
