The UFC has finalized a fight between former two-time middleweight champion Israel Adesanya and the rising Nassourdine Imavov for early 2025.
Knockout Alerts reported a number of weeks ago that the bout was planned to headline the second UFC Fight Night event in Saudi Arabia on Feb. 1, 2025, at The Venue in Riyadh. That’s now been made official, with UFC CEO Dana White announcing the matchup in a social media video.
Israel Adesanya, once unbeaten with a 20-0 record and a dominant reign at middleweight, has faced a turbulent career path in recent years.
After his first career loss to Jan Błachowicz at UFC 259 in a bid for the light heavyweight title, the Nigerian-New Zealander defended the belt against Marvin Vettori, Robert Whittaker, and Jared Cannonier. He lost the championship to Alex Pereira at UFC 281, only to reclaim it one fight later with a spectacular KO victory over “Poatan” at UFC 287.
His momentum faltered again when Sean Strickland defeated him by decision at UFC 293, and he subsequently lost a chance to reclaim the title against Dricus Du Plessis by submission this past August. This upcoming fight could be a crucial step toward getting Adesanya back into title contention.
Nassourdine Imavov, currently holding a 15-4 record, has been building momentum with three consecutive victories, including two by decision. Most recently, he defeated Brendan Allen in a UFC Fight Night main event in Paris this past September.
A win over Adesanya would be the biggest of “The Sniper’s” career and could propel him into the middleweight title conversation.
With this addition, the current fights expected to take place at UFC Fight Night Saudi Arabia are as follows:
- Israel Adesanya vs. Nassourdine Imavov (middleweight main event)
- Shara Magomedov vs. Michael Page (middleweight co-main event)
- Ikram Aliskerov vs. Andre Muniz (middleweight)
- Sergei Pavlovich vs. Jairzinho Rozenstruik (heavyweight)
- Said Nurmagomedov vs. Vinicius Oliveira (bantamweight)
- Hamdy Abdelwahab vs. Jamal Pogues (heavyweight)
- Bogdan Grad vs. Lucas Alexander (featherweight)
- Abdul-Kareem Al-Selwady vs. Jordan Leavitt (lightweight)
- Jasmine Jasudavicius vs. Mayra Bueno Silva (women’s flywight)
- Shamil Gaziev vs. Thomas Petersen (heavyweight)
- Muhammad Naimov vs. Kaan Ofli (featherweight)
- Terrance McKinney vs. Damir Hadžović (lightweight)
This card promises to be a thrilling showcase of talent as the UFC continues its expansion into the Middle East.
