Whilst the focus for UFC 293 is primarily on the shocking upset of Sean Strickland over Israel Adesanya, the rest of UFC 293 from top to bottom delivered an incredibly night of fights down under in Sydney Australia. From local talent making their mark and staking their claim as new blood in the UFC to fan favourites securing dominant finishes, UFC 293 met and surpassed any and all expectations that fans had heading into the fights.

The card was opened by highly touted prospect Kevin Jousset securing the submission victory over a very tough and game Kiefe Crosbie towards the end of round one. Arguably the prospect of the night, Kevin stayed patient as Kiefe pressed forward early, reversing a takedown attempt before locking up a body triangle and finishing the Irish fighter late in the first.

Kevin Jousset Submits Kiefe Crosbie
Photo Credit MMAFighting

The early finishes was continued by Gabriel Miranda, who early in the first secured a takedown against Shane Young before forcing him to submit to a neck crank. An unfortunate loss for Shane, extending his losing streak to four in a row. When this is coupled with his 3.5 pound weight miss it is more than likely that Shane has fought his last fight in this current run in the UFC.

Mike “Blood Diamond” Mathetha and Charles Radtke closed out the early prelims in one of the slower fights on the card. Mathetha looked to utilise his striking early but struggled to keep Radtke at distance and while showing improvements in his wrestling defence, was unable to stop Radtke from taking the decision victory. Unfortunately, this victory was soured by Radtke’s use of a homophobic slur in his post-fight interview.

Nasrat Haqparast opened the ESPN prelims with a hard fought decision against Landon Quinones in an exciting matchup, placing Nasrat back on track in the lightweight division. Jaime Mullarkey secured a close decision over UFC veteran John Makdessi in a back and forth battle where both men displayed heart, determination and an unwillingness to quit.

Jack Jenkins saw an unfortunate ending to his fight with Chepe Mariscal. When Mariscal went for a throw, Jenkins looked to post and unfortunately his elbow dislocated, an unfortunate ending to an amazing fight. While Chepe potentially eyes a move to bantamweight, Jenkins will likely look to return quickly in order to reignite the hype he had coming into this matchup.

Carlos Ulberg secured an incredibly late submission victory over Da Woon Jung to close the prelims. A close fight where both men displayed their ability to take a clean shot as well as deliver damage. Following the victory Ulberg was clear that he wants former title contender Dominick Reyes next as he looks to climb the rankings.

Tyson Pedro opened the pay-per-view with a destructive knockout over Anton Turkalj, staking his claim as one of the most dangerous fighters and prolific finishes in the light heavyweight division. Justin Tafa continued the knockouts finishes for the Australian’s as he secured a thunderous TKO victory over Austen Lane. While Tafa will certainly climb the rankings, an early eye poke had fans concerned that we could see a repeat of the first fight between Austen Lane and Justin Tafa, which was stopped early due to a damaging eye poke committed accidentally by Lane.

Tyson Pedro Secures A Devastating KO Over Anton Turkalj
Photo Credit: MMAFighting

Manel Kape and Felipe Dos Santos prior to the pre-fight press conference was a fight being somewhat overlooked. However, with the fight being awarded fight of the night honours, both men showed a high level of mixed martial arts abilities mixed with a blood and guts back and forth affair between two of the best rising prospects in the flyweight division. While Manel secured the decision victory, it is undeniable that Felipe has quickly endeared himself to the fanbase with this fight. Once again, this fight was unfortunately somewhat soured by Manel’s use of a homophobic slur in his post-fight interview, a second occurrence for this card,

The roof of Qados Bank Arena shook with the roar of the crowd as Tai Tuivasa took on fellow heavyweight Alexander Volkov. While Tai displayed his heart and improved Jiu-Jitsu defence, Volkov displayed his veteran skillset and utilised his physical advantages to secure the third ever Ezekiel choke in the UFC over a fan favourite in Tai Tuivasa.

Alexander Volkov defeated Tai Tuivasa via Ezekiel choke
Photo Credit: Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC

For our thoughts on the main event, visit our article dedicated to the main event on our website as an amazing weekend of fights in Sydney comes to an end.