This weekend, the UFC heads down under as Israel Adesanya takes on Sean Strickland in the main event of UFC 293. The event will be hosted by Sydney’s Qudos Bank Arena, where Australians will be eagerly awaiting to support their hometown fighters. This is the second time in 2023 that the UFC is heading to Australia. In February, the fans in Perth got a taste of the entertainment UFC has to offer.
One unwanted record this fight card carries is the fact that there are no women’s fights scheduled. This happens rarely in the UFC, as the organizers always ensure female representation. Women’s UFC gained popularity with the introduction of Ronda Rousey into the UFC. She led the way for many great women’s champions like Amanda Nunes, Rose Namajunas, and Weili Zhang, to name a few.
#UFC293 is only the second UFC event this year to not have a women’s bout.
(Bohm/Kim was scheduled for #UFCVegas68, but the bout was canceled hours before the event)
— Jed I. Goodman © (@jedigoodman) September 4, 2023
Although the lack of a women’s bout is an isolated incident, the UFC and Dana White are sure to prevent this from happening in the future. The fight card still is stacked with great fights. The main event, as previously mentioned, will see Israel Adesanya return to the UFC after his incredible knock-out victory over Alex Pereira at UFC 287 in April earlier this year.
Exciting fights on UFC 293 main card
The Last Stylebender was scheduled to fight Dricus Du Plessis of South Africa, who considers himself to be the only African fighter representing Africa, as he trains and lives there. He is critical of other fighters of African descent who don’t live in Africa anymore, but call themselves African champions like Israel Adesanya, Kamaru Usman, and Francis Ngannou.
The South African was keen on defeating Adesanya, and becoming the African champion in the UFC, but couldn’t make it to UFC 293 due to an injury. His replacement is the unhinged Sean Strickland.
UFC 293 Main Card, ONE WEEK!
#UFC293 pic.twitter.com/gW4hP1ueAu
— YouWager.lv (@YouWager_FF) September 3, 2023
The UFC couldn’t put on a show in Australia without the explosive Tai Tuivasa, who will take on six-foot-seven Russian striker Volkov. The immensely experienced 34-year-old has a record of 36-10 as a professional and boasts wins over the likes of Fabricio Werdum and Alistair Overeem. Tuivasa, on the other hand, hasn’t been in the ring since being knocked out by Sergey Pavlovich in December last year. He will hope to avoid a third straight loss against the Russian.
At flyweight, we have Manel Kape vs. Felipe dos Santos. Kape has won three consecutive fights but has only had one fight since the start of 2022, while 22-year-old dos Santos is undefeated in seven fights. At heavyweight, we have Justin Tafa vs. Austen Lane. This a rematch, as their previous bout in 2022, was called a no-contest because of a brutal yet accidental eye poke to Tafa.
Lastly, Tyson Pedro will take one Anton Turkalj in a light-heavyweight bout. Hometown hero Pedro will try to overpower the struggling Turkalj of Sweden, who has lost his last 2 fights in the UFC. Who are you supporting in the main event? Izzy or Strickland?
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