The middleweight king steps into the Octagon this weekend as UFC 185 lb champion Israel Adesanya defends his title against Sean Strickland. ‘The Last Stylebender’ makes his first defence of the belt he regained from Alex Pereira in April. Strickland put himself in the contender’s corner with a Performance of the Night knockout of Abus Magomedov in July.
The co-main event comes courtesy of some hard-hitting heavyweights as Australia’s ‘Bam Bam’ Tai Tuivasa looks to get back into the win column against the explosive Alexander Volkov. 7-0 flyweight Felipe Dos Santos makes his hotly anticipated UFC debut against Manel Kape, who comes into the fight off the back of three wins in a row. The main card is rounded out by a heavyweight collision between Justin Tafa and Austen Lane and a light heavyweight scrap pitting Tyson Pedro against Anton Turkalj.
Here’s everything you need to know about the latest pay-per-view extravaganza from the UFC.
Where: Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney, Australia
When: Saturday 9th September, (1am prelims, 3am main card UK time)
How To Watch: TNT Sports 1
Tale Of The Tape:
Adesanya:
Place Of Birth: Lagos, Nigeria
Age: 34
Alias: ‘The Last Stylebender’
Record: 24-2
Height: 6’4”
Reach: 80’’
Last Fight: Adesanya became UFC middleweight champion for the second, beating Alex Oliveira via second-round knockout.
Strickland:
Place Of Birth: Anaheim, California, USA
Age: 32
Alias: Tarzan
Record: 27-5
Height: 6’1”
Reach: 76”
Last Fight: ‘Tarzan’ landed a spectacular second-round TKO of Abus Magomedov back in July.
Main card
Israel Adesanya v Sean Strickland
Tai Tuivasa v Alexander Volkov
Manel Kape v Felipe dos Santos
Justin Tafa v Austen Lane
Tyson Pedro v Anton Turkalj
Prelims
Nasrat Haqparast v Landon Quinones
Jamie Mullarkey v John Makdessi
Jack Jenkins v Chepe Mariscal
Carlos Ulberg v Da Woon Jung
Early prelims
Mike Diamond v Charlie Radtke
Shane Young v Gabriel Miranda
Kevin Jousset v Kiefer Crosbie
*18+ | BeGambleAware | Odds Subject To Change
