Sean Strickland became the new UFC Middleweight Champion after defeating Israel Adesanya by unanimous decision at the UFC 293 event held at the Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, Australia.

The Nigerian fighter failed to defend the championship he had reclaimed against Alex Pereira at UFC 287. Strickland emerged as the challenger to Adesanya after securing two consecutive victories.

Strickland, from Anaheim, California, entered his first title fight and managed to outscore Adesanya on the scorecards (49–46, 49–46, 49–46), thus proclaiming the new UFC Middleweight Champion.