TAMPA, Fla. – In a stunning upset, Sean Strickland went the distance and dethroned Israel Adesanya to become the new middleweight champion.

Strickland came into this fight as the underdog at +450. Adesanya, on top of the world, came in after regaining the middleweight title and knocking out Alex Pereira.

After the fighters were announced, referee Marc Goddard started the fight. Adesanya came out of the corner with speed, attempting to land a heavy offense. He threw strategic combinations, patient punches and high kicks to Strickland’s head.

However, Strickland had a strong defense. He defended Adesanya’s kicks and dodged his punches as he fought back, landing some combinations of his own.

It was a close first round, but Strickland landed a strong right hand to the jaw, throwing more heavy combinations and trying to end the round early. Adesanya fought like a champion, getting back to his feet and avoiding what would have been a devastating first-round TKO.

In the second round, Strickland continued to pressure Adesanya, who played defense. Strickland, unlike Adesanya’s other opponents, pushed him into the cage, walking him down, landing punches and not allowing Adesanya to move as much as he wanted. Adesanya shuffled around the cage, trying to get away, but Strickland kept throwing punches, leaving Adesanya to fight on his back leg as he fought off the cage.

The third round began with Strickland going back to work, continuing to pressure Adesanya and landing multiple combinations. Adesanya appeared to be in trouble as he was constantly pushed into the cage and tried to box his way out.

Strickland made Adesanya stand with him, controlling the pace of the fight and landing heavy hand after heavy hand.

In the training leading up to the fight, Strickland trained with the man who had beaten Adesanya twice, Alex Pereira. With the strategy of pressuring Adesanya, landing combinations and heavy shots, it showed that Strickland had learned a thing or two from Pereira.

The third round ended, both men went to their corners and Adesanya looked exhausted, breathing heavily. Strickland appeared to be energized and ready to go. Both men returned to the center of the octagon for round four.

Adesanya was still breathing heavily as Strickland bounced on his feet, ready to go.

The fourth round was much like the first as Strickland pressured Adesanya into the corner, landing combinations. Adesanya defended and landed shots of his own, but he could not escape the cage.

Shuffling back and forth and trying to find an opening, Adesanya continued to throw punches with Strickland, going toe to toe. The round ended with Strickland landing combinations on Adesanya.

The fifth and final round began with Strickland trying to pressure Adesanya again, but Adesanya ran away from the cage, trying to avoid having to defend. This plan did not work as Strickland pressured Adesanya into the cage.

Strickland continuously made Adesanya defend off his back leg as both men looked for their openings. Adesanya landed a head kick, but Strickland answered with a right hand as the crowd responded, “Oooohhhh!”

Adesanya tried to find a spot to land a clean shot on Strickland, but every punch he threw, Strickland had a counter for him. Adesanya finally started to find his rhythm, pushing forward to the center of the octagon, but it was too late as Strickland pushed him back toward the cage, walking him down from one end of the cage to the other.

The fight ended with Strickland landing multiple combinations on Adesanya as the horn sounded.

Bruce Buffer was in the center of the octagon to announce the winner. “We go to the judges’ scorecards for a decision. All judges scored this contest 49-46 for the winner by unanimous decision and new undisputed UFC middleweight champion of the world, Sean Strickland.”

With this loss, Adesanya lost the middleweight strap again. Was Adesanya losing himself in the fame? What was next for Adesanya?