“The Last Stylebender” is back.
Knockoutalerts has reported that Israel Adesanya vs. Nassourdine Imavov is in the works to headline the second Saudi Arabia Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Fight Night scheduled for Feb. 1, 2025 inside The Venue in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. MMAMania.com can confirm this fight is the plan, but contracts have yet to be signed.
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Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC
Adesanya (24-4) is coming off the first two-fight losing streak of his legendary mixed martial arts (MMA) career – losing to Sean Strickland at UFC 293 and then Dricus Du Plessis earlier this year at UFC 305 (watch highlights).
His upcoming fight will be his first non-title fight in nearly five years – where he fought Anderson Silva at UFC 234.
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Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC
Imavov (15-4-1) has been on a roll since losing to Strickland back at UFC Vegas 67. Since that loss, he has picked a majority decision over Roman Dolizde, a stoppage of Jared Cannonier, and most recently, a unanimous decision over Brendan Allen at UFC Paris.
With a win over Adesanya, the French fighter sets himself up to challenge for the Middleweight title or at least be in the conversation.
In addition to Adesanya vs. Imavov, here are other announced fights for UFC Saudi Arabia
- Ikram Aliskerov vs. Andre Muniz
- Sergei Pavlovich vs. Jairzinho Rozenstruik
- Hamdy Abdelwahab vs. Jamal Pogues
- Shara Magomedov vs. Michael Page
- Jasmine Jasudavicius vs. Mayra Bueno Silva
To checkout UFC’s upcoming schedule of events click here.