Significant Stats | UFC 293: Adesanya vs Strickland

What It Means: “The Last Stylebender” has an algorithmic approach to fights, especially in the striking department. He is a master of maintaining range and gathering reads through feints. He often likes to build his attacks off leg kicks before getting to work with his hands, and he’ll usually throw one or two strikes at a time before he finds his rhythm for combinations. Adesanya is deceptively strong in clinches and shows solid, fundamental grappling, both offensively and defensively. While he is good when pressing the action, he is particularly effective as a counterstriker.

How To Watch UFC 293: Adesanya vs Strickland

Sean Strickland

Key Stats: 6.19 strikes landed per minute (3rd all-time among MW), +1.87 striking differential (10th all-time among MW), 65.4 significant strike defense (5th all-time among MW)

What It Means: Strickland is a high-volume, high-pressure kind of fighter who wants to melt his opponents over time. He is defensively awkward but sound, possessing good vision in the pocket, and he likes to parry punches away with his hands and arms. His best weapon is his jab, and while he says he’s not the most powerful puncher, his accuracy plus his pace does the job for him. He is also an effective wrestler although he does not often utilize that skill set.

What to Look For in the Fight: Although Strickland’s best path to victory is to grapple with Adesanya, he enjoys trading on the feet, so it’ll be intriguing to see whether he tries to march Adesanya down the way he does with most of his opponents. Adesanya will switch his footwork with frequency to evade and maintain range, and he could find plenty of early success kicking Strickland’s legs if he can be mindful of the counters over the top. If Adesanya decides to sit in the pocket, his accuracy will be tested, but he could find a lot of success feinting on Strickland to get past his initial defenses.

Co-Main Event: Tai Tuivasa vs Alexander Volkov

Tai Tuivasa

Key Stats: 1.38 knockdowns per 15 minutes (8th all-time among HW), 6:41 average fight time (6th), 49.9% significant strike accuracy (3rd)

What It Means: Ulberg is a sharp kickboxer with heavy, brutal kicks but an exceptionally good check hook. He is a patient fighter despite his normally quick fights, but that speaks more to his power than his approach. He likes to use a long guard and has sharp footwork that allows him to pivot off and land that counter hook he is often looking for early in the fight.

Da Woon Jung

Key Stats: 3.39 strikes landed per minute, 2.1 takedowns averaged per 15 minutes, 9:11 average fight time

What It Means: Jung is a powerful fighter with sharp boxing and a heavy right hand. Most of his work on the feet is to line up his big right over the top, but he is a mindful counter fighter as well. He can mix things up and take a fight to the ground, utilizing his good frame for the division, but ultimately, he wants to uncork his right hand to end the fight.

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What to Look For in the Fight: This one could get off to a slow start as both men enjoy sitting back and countering with their best shots, but Ulberg could get ahead if he throws low kicks to Jung’s legs and body. Ulberg is probably the cleaner striker of the two, but Jung can absolutely find a knockout shot in an exchange.