Israel Adesanya was left with more questions than answers after a lackluster performance that cost him the middleweight title in the UFC 293 main event.
The now former champion struggled to really get any kind of rhythm going against Sean Strickland, who kept up an impressive pace, showcased incredible defense and just continuously peppered Adesanya with punches over five rounds. Strickland also scored a jaw-dropping knockdown early in the fight that really set the tone for his victory with Adesanya just never finding his footing before dropping the unanimous decision.
Even UFC president Dana White was dumbfounded at how the whole fight played out but particularly where Adesanya was concerned.
“Obviously, I expected a completely different main event,” White said at the UFC 293 post-fight press conference. “Whether Izzy won or Strickland won, nobody saw that coming.
“That Izzy would come in flat and slow and whatever’s going on with him, I don’t think anybody expected to see that.”
According to UFC stats, Strickland outlanded Adesanya 137 to 94 in total strikes while scoring the only knockdown with his near finish in the opening round. Strickland also controlled the pace throughout as he marched forward while applying constant pressure as Adesanya largely operated with his back against the cage without really offering much resistance.
“He looked like he couldn’t get off,” White said. “He looked like he was really stiff tonight. He looked very slow. Only Israel knows what’s going on. I’m very curious to see what he says at this press conference tonight.
“There are a million things that could go wrong. Some days you wake up and you’re just not there, man. It’s just not there. He looked bone-dry tonight, standing up really tall. He looked very slow. He looked like he couldn’t get off at all. Even in the fifth round when everybody knew he needed a knockout to win the fight, there was no sense of urgency to try to finish the fight. So I don’t know if he’s hurt or if tonight’s the night.”
The loss to Strickland came just five months after Adesanya vanquished arguably his greatest boogeyman to date when he knocked out Alex Pereira in April. In their first encounter in the UFC, Pereira scored a late fifth-round knockout to beat Adesanya to win the middleweight title, which followed an even more vicious finish from the Brazilian when they clashed in kickboxing a few years earlier.
Adesanya finally got his revenge against Pereira before he shifted his attention to Strickland on Saturday.
White suggested that perhaps the high stakes in those two fights may have played some part in the deflated performance from Adesanya on Saturday.
“That could be the thing, too — when you think about you’re going into the Pereira fight, such a big fight and you’ve been in there with this guy so many times and then you overlook Strickland,” White said. “I don’t know the answers to these questions but Israel does and I’m looking forward to hearing it.”
In his brief post-fight statement, Adesanya only offered Strickland congratulations on the victory without specifically addressing his performance.
Despite Adesanya losing 49-46 across all three scorecards when the fight was over, White still believes running it back again will be the most logical conclusion for the middleweight division.
That may not be the answer contenders like Dricus Du Plessis or Khamzat Chimaev wanted to hear but White appeared resolved in his plans to give Adesanya another shot at Strickland following the shocking upset at UFC 293.
“I think you do the rematch,” White said. “Absolutely. The rematch is interesting.”
CLEVELAND (AP) — Restricted free agent forward Isaac Okoro has agreed to re-sign with the Cleveland Cavaliers on a three-year contract, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press on Saturday.
Okoro’s new deal is worth $38 million, according to the person who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the contract has not been signed or announced by the team.
ESPN.com first reported the agreement, citing Okoro’s representation.
The fifth overall pick in the 2020 NBA draft, Okoro is Cleveland’s best perimeter defender, often drawing the assignment of guarding the opponent’s top scorer. Okoro also has worked to improve his offensive game.
The 23-year-old averaged 9.4 points and 3.0 rebounds in 69 games — 42 starts — last season for the Cavs, who beat Orlando in the opening round of the playoffs before losing to eventual champion Boston.
Okoro shot a career-best 39% on 3-pointers, forcing teams to come out and guard him.
His agreement caps an extraordinarily busy summer for the Cavs that began with coach J.B. Bickerstaff being fired and replaced by Kenny Atkinson. All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell signed a three-year, $150 million extension in July, ending months of speculation that he wanted out of Cleveland.
Also, power forward Evan Mobley signed a five-year, $224 deal and center Jarrett Allen signed a three-year, $91 million extension.
GUADALAJARA, Mexico – Canada’s Marina Stakusic fell 6-4, 6-3 to Poland’s Magdalena Frech in the quarterfinals of the Guadalajara Open tennis tournament on Friday.
The 19-year-old from Mississauga, Ont., won 61 per cent of her first-serve points and broke on just one of her six opportunities.
Stakusic had upset top-seeded Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 (0) on Thursday night to advance.
In the opening round, Stakusic defeated Slovakia’s Anna Karolína Schmiedlová 6-2, 6-4 on Tuesday.
The fifth-seeded Frech won 62 per cent of her first-serve points and converted on three of her nine break point opportunities.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
TORONTO – Alejandro Kirk’s long single with the bases loaded provided the Toronto Blue Jays with a walk-off 4-3 win in the 11th inning of their series opener against the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday.
With the Cardinals outfield in, Kirk drove a shot off the base of the left-field wall to give the Blue Jays (70-78) their fourth win in 11 outings and halt the Cardinals’ (74-73) two-game win streak before 30,380 at Rogers Centre.
Kirk enjoyed a two-hit, two-RBI outing.
Erik Swanson (2-2) pitched a perfect 11th inning for the win, while Cardinals reliever Ryan Fernandez (1-5) took the loss.
Blue Jays starter Kevin Gausman enjoyed a seven-inning, 104-pitch outing. He surrendered his two runs on nine hits and two walks and fanned only two Cardinals.
He gave way to reliever Genesis Cabrera, who gave up a one-out homer to Thomas Saggese, his first in 2024, that tied the game in the eighth.
The Cardinals started swiftly with four straight singles to open the game. But they exited the first inning with only two runs on an RBI single to centre from Nolan Arendao and a fielder’s choice from Saggese.
Gausman required 28 pitches to escape the first inning but settled down to allow his teammates to snatch the lead in the fourth.
He also deftly pitched out of threats from the visitors in the fifth, sixth and seventh thanks to some solid defence, including Will Wagner’s diving stop, which led to a double play to end the fifth inning.
George Springer led off with a walk and stole second base. He advanced to third on Nathan Lukes’s single and scored when Vladimir Guerrero Jr. knocked in his 95th run with a double off the left-field wall.
Lukes scored on a sacrifice fly to left field from Spencer Horwitz. Guerrero touched home on Kirk’s two-out single to right.
In the ninth, Guerrero made a critical diving catch on an Arenado grounder to throw out the Cardinals’ infielder, with reliever Tommy Nance covering first. The defensive gem ended the inning with a runner on second base.
St. Louis starter Erick Fedde faced the minimum night batters in the first three innings thanks to a pair of double plays. He lasted five innings, giving up three runs on six hits and a walk with three strikeouts.
ON DECK
Toronto ace Jose Berrios (15-9) will start the second of the three-game series on Saturday. He has a six-game win streak.
The Cardinals will counter with righty Kyle Gibson (8-6).
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
