Five years after he was involved in a life-threatening motorcycle accident, five years after doctors told him he’d never be able to fight again, Sean Strickland had the UFC middleweight championship belt wrapped around his waist.
“What is this thing?” he asked multiple times, beaming, after UFC president Dana White put the belt on him in the Octagon after he scored a clear but stunning unanimous decision victory over Israel Adesanya in the main event of UFC 293 on Sunday in Sydney, Australia.
Adesanya closed as a -675 favorite but still went down to defeat in a bout that was never in doubt.