UFC 293: Top-Ranked Stars Predict Israel Adesanya vs. Sean Strickland

The highly anticipated Israel Adesanya vs. Sean Strickland middleweight title bout at UFC 293 is right around the corner. With the eagerly-awaited pay-per-view event pitting a high-volume fighter like ‘Tarzan’ against an elite striker like Adesanya, many of the UFC’s top-ranked stars have voiced their predictions. 

Israel Adesanya is hands down one of the greatest kickboxers the UFC has ever seen. Additionally, ‘The Last Stylebender’ is also among the most dominant champions in history, having effectively cleared the 185-pound division. Given his incredible resume, most fans predict an easy victory for the Nigerian-born Kiwi. However, there are some who claim that Sean Strickland could prove a trickier challenger for Adesanya than expected. 

Several UFC stars recently weighed in on the UFC 293 headliner. Here are some of their predictions:

Michael Chandler: The mercurial lightweight contender is backing Israel Adesanya to beat Sean Strickland dominantly. Heaping praise on the reigning 185-pound king, ‘Iron’ called Adesanya one of the greatest MMA fighters on Earth. However, Chandler recognized Strickland’s “X” factor and claimed ‘Tarzan’ could shock the world with a knockout. 

Alex Pereira: The former middleweight king is widely known as Israel Adesanya’s arch-nemesis in combat sports. ‘Poatan’ is also the only fighter ever to KO Adesanya and beat him on three occasions across two different combat sports. Pereira played the heel in Adesanya’s story once again and claimed if anyone could beat the middleweight champion, it was Strickland.

Cory Sandhagen: The top-ranked bantamweight knew who he was betting on. ‘The Sandman’ called Adesanya’s kickboxing superior to any opponent he could face and predicted him to KO Strickland or outpoint him on the scorecards. 

Anthony Smith: The perennial light heavyweight contender had an interesting opinion on the fight. ‘Lionheart’ claimed that Sean Strickland’s unorthodox style could prove tricky for Adesanya to deal with. While Smith conceded that ‘The Last Stylebender’ was the better fighter, ‘Tarzan’ could yet make the contest competitive. 

These predictions have been sourced from various pre-fight press conferences and interviews.