The emerald city is truly blessed with a ‘gem’ of a main event this Sunday the 10th of September as Israel Adesanya looks to defend his middleweight title against the braggadocios and outspoken Sean Strickland here in Sydney. Alongside this, the ever-exciting Tai Tuivasa looks to snap his two fight skid against the highly skilled Alexander Volkov here on home soil. Tyson Pedro and Justin Tafa also look to make their own contributions to the explosion of Australian MMA as they take on some tough opposition in Anton “The Pleasure Man” Turkalj and Austen Lane respectively.

As From The Stands was live covering the event, Sean was his usual entertaining and colourful self as he held no punches in regards to his opponent Israel Adesanya. Whilst referring to him as the “China Man” Sean ensured the fans he would be winning this one “for Australia”. As expected, Sean also brought up what could be called ‘DogGate’ in the world of MMA (in reference to the infamous Adesanya dog video that surfaced).

The pre-fight press conference saw a significant step up in the “trash talk and promotion”. Though, unexpectedly, it was Manel Kape who stole the show and has quickly turned his fight into one of the most appealing fights on the card. Manel Kape (seeing Kai Kara France) immediately exploded into a tirade aimed at Kai (a prospective opponent) before launching a water bottle into the audience and berating Adesanya and the whole City Kickboxing Team. Whilst the tirade could be criticized, it is inarguable that prior to this, Manel’s fight was being overshadowed by some of the other high-profile matchups on the card.

A Fiery Manel Kape Goes Off On All Of CKB At The UFC 293 Press Conference

Photo Credit: MMAmania

Whilst Manel stole the show, Sean Strickland did not disappoint at the pre-fight press conference. Referencing Israel’s time in China, with Adesanya responding that Strickland is a “sell out” before a war of words quickly broke out between the two men. The response from the crowd clearly showed the love that the Australian fans had for Strickland as well as the chaos that was ensuing on stage.

From Sean Strickland sparring a fan at the open workouts to the chaos that ensued with ‘DogGate’ at the press conference it is incontrovertible that this weekend’s card is going to deliver an action packed night of fights where stars have their opportunity to shine and legends can be made. As mentioned by From The Stands journalist, Josh Betar, the last time there was a ’93’ in the number of UFC pay-per-views Holly Holm shocked the world by knocking out dominant champion Ronda Rousey.

Will history repeat itself this weekend with Strickland shocking the world and gaining a victory over one of the best middleweights of all time? Or will ‘The Last Stylebender’ continue his reign of dominance and embed his name as a legend of the UFC and mixed martial arts? Tune into UFC 293 this weekend to see history made and the next evolution of Australian mixed martial arts