It's official. Israel Adesanya will be defending his middleweight title against Sean Strickland at UFC 293 which takes place Sept. 9 in Sydney, Australia. Of course, it's not the fight everyone expected — we were all hoping Dricus du Plessis would be the one to fight Adesanya, especially with their ongoing beef and the fallout from their post-fight confrontation at UFC 290.

However, Du Plessis couldn't make the quick turnaround — which is really the UFC's fault for booking him so close to the event — and so, we now have the next best option in Strickland. It's not the most exciting or interesting fight by any means given that Strickland only recently snapped a two-fight losing skid by beating two non-top five opponents — but it's still a title fight worth getting excited for.

One look at some of the reactions to the announcement from MMA Twitter and it's clear that hardcore fans are not moved by the matchup — they expect another routine title defense for Adesanya. However, that's more or less the case with any Adesanya fight that doesn't involve Alex Pereira as his opponent. Other champions including the likes of Anderson Silva, Kamaru Usman, and Khabib Nurmagomedov were also expected to win all their fights. It didn't make their fights any less interesting.

And yes, the matchup does favor Adesanya quite a bit. Strickland is mainly a point fighter whose biggest weapon is his jab. However, it's hard to see him outjab Adesanya or have any success on the feet at all. He doesn't have one punch knockout power nor does he really rely on wrestling. Should he decide to rely on his wrestling, he's probably unlikely to take Adesanya down as well. It's hard to see him winning. But the same could have also been said for Dricus du Plessis when he fought Robert Whittaker at UFC 290. In the end, this is MMA and anything can happen. That's the also where the beauty of watching a title fight live comes from — the tension and excitement that comes with it.

And let's not forget that Strickland is not some dull fighter with no personality. He may not be the most exciting when it comes to fight style, but he's one of the most entertaining and outspoken fighters with virtually zero filter. He has a good section of fans as well as a very strong section of haters and critics.

Basically, Strickland is a big enough name where we're invested enough to want to see how he fares against the champion and probably the best striker at 185 pounds today. We could be in store for some in-fight trash talk and clowning or a loudmouth getting humbled, outclassed and beat on badly. It's the same reason fans can watch Colby Covington, Chael Sonnen or Floyd Mayweather fights even though they're not the most exciting — because of the investment in the fighters as well as the possibility of watching them get beat.

Speaking of Strickland's personality, the press conferences will be absolutely crazy and unforgettable going into this fight. As some memes put it, it will be like a classic Call of Duty lobby. We already got a preview of what could come from their verbal sparring session at the UFC 281 press conference late last year.

It'll only go into overdrive when we get the first pre-fight press conference for UFC 293. And while some MMA fans aren't in it for the trash talk or are simply not fans, the reality is that's what entertains, sells and draws interest. And to be honest, we've had a dearth of real trash talking leading up to fights. We could certainly use some of it now and both Strickland and Adesanya will be delivering it.

As far as the fight goes, it'll probably be unanimous decision win over Adesanya. Much like his wins over Jared Cannonier and Marvin Vettori, it wouldn't surprise many to see Adesanya land a couple of shots each round, utilize a number of leg kicks but mainly let the finish come to him rather than chase it while Strickland misses bad with his striking attempts. It probably won't even be worth a rewatch.

However, if we're lucky and Strickland is reckless, we could see a knockout finish. After all, Adesanya's last outing saw him deliver one of the greatest knockouts in recent memory. Or on the flipside, we could see a massive upset that will send shockwaves across the UFC. Perhaps Strickland riles him up to the point where Adesanya is prepared to take risks to shut him up.

Whatever happens, the build up will be great, it'll still be fun to watch with the tension that comes with watching a live event and ultimately, it's still a fight worth getting excited for.