The middleweight title is on the line in the main event of UFC 293 this weekend, as Israel Adesanya defends the belt against Sean Strickland.

Adesanya became a two-time champion in April, knocking out Alex Pereira to take back the gold that he lost to his old rival in November.

The Nigerian-New Zealander was eyeing a fight with Dricus Du Plessis as the first title defence of his second reign, but Du Plessis is recovering from an injury, opening the door for the controversial Strickland.

Ranked fifth, Strickland (27-5) enters Australia on a two-fight win streak, with many fans interested to see and hear the American’s verbal exchanges with Adesanya (24-2) this week.

Here’s all you need to know. We may earn commission from some of the links in this article, but we never allow this to influence our content. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent.

When is UFC 293?

The event is set to take place on Saturday 9 September, at the Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, Australia.

The early prelims are due to begin at 11.30pm BST (3.30pm PT, 5.30pm CT, 6.30pm ET), with the regular prelims following at 1am BST on Sunday 10 September (5pm PT, 7pm CT, 8pm ET on Saturday).

The main card is then scheduled for 3am BST on Sunday (7pm PT, 9pm CT, 10pm ET on Saturday).

How can I watch it?

The card will air live on TNT Sports in the UK, with the broadcaster’s app and website also streaming the fights.

In the US, ESPN+ will stream the action live, as will the UFC’s Fight Pass.

If you’re travelling abroad and want to watch the event, you might need a VPN to unblock your streaming app. Our VPN round-up is here to help: Get great deals on the best VPNs in the market.

Odds

Adesanya – 2/13

Strickland – 9/2 

Via Betway.

Full card (subject to change)

Main card

Israel Adesanya (C) vs Sean Strickland (middleweight title)

Tai Tuivasa vs Alexander Volkov (heavyweight)

Manel Kape vs Felipe dos Santos (flyweight)

Justin Tafa vs Austen Lane (heavyweight)

Tyson Pedro vs Anton Turkalj (light-heavyweight)

Prelims

Carlos Ulberg vs Da Woon Jung (light-heavyweight)

Jack Jenkins vs Chepe Mariscal (featherweight)

Jamie Mullarkey vs John Makdessi (lightweight)

Nasrat Haqparast vs Landon Quinones (lightweight)

Early prelims

Mike Diamond vs Charlie Radtke (welterweight)

Shane Young vs Gabriel Miranda (featherweight)

Kevin Jousset vs Kiefer Crosbie (welterweight)

Read More