
This past Saturday in the main event of UFC Saudi Arabia, we saw a huge matchup in the middleweight division. Former middleweight champion Israel Adesanya (24-5) was taking on rising contender Nassourdine Imavov (16-4, 1 NC). This was Adesanya’s first non-title fight since 2019.
It’s been a crazy couple of years for Israel Adesanya. In November 2022, Adesanya lost his middleweight title to Alex Pereira. A few months later in their rematch, he regained the middleweight title by knocking Pereira out cold. The Last Stylebender was 24-2 and he was on top of the world. Then he lost his title to Sean Strickland. After a year off, he returned and lost a title fight to Dricus Du Plessis and this past Saturday, he was looking to regain momentum.
In the first round at UFC Saudi Arabia, Adesanya looked good. He did a great job of managing distance and using his kicks. Imavov had a really good uppercut in the round, but Adesanya landed well and defended every takedown attempt. It was easily 1-0 Adesanya on my card after the first.
Seconds into the second round, Adesanya was poked in the eye but waved the ref off saying he was good. Moments later, he was hit with a crushing overhand right that sent him down. Imavov landed the perfect follow up left which essentially ended the fight handing the former UFC champion his third straight loss.
What’s next after UFC Saudi Arabia?
Right now you’re hearing a bunch of people saying that Adesanya should retire and saying that he’s washed up after the Imavov loss. On paper, things don’t look great with Adesanya having gone 23-1 in his first 24 fights and now he’s just 1-4 in his last five professional fights.
However, in the last two fights, he looked great until he was caught. I had him ahead against Dricus Du Plessis before he was caught and taken down in the fourth round leading to his submission loss. He was winning against Imavov before getting caught. I don’t think the former UFC champion is washed up, but he’s getting caught more now than he was before.
Sean Strickland dropped Adesanya, DDP hurt Adesanya, and Imavov dropped and finished Adesanya. Whether it’s his chin or his reflexes, things aren’t as they once were for The Last Stylebender. That said, with a few tweaks, I think he can still compete with the best the UFC has to offer.
So, what should be next for him? I still think we could look at next weekend for Adesanya’s next fight. While he’s certainly not getting a title fight, perhaps the loser of the upcoming title fight would be a great fight for Adesanya. A rematch with either Sean Strickland or DDP could be in the cards for the former champion.
However, looking outside the top five could be another option. Perhaps the winner of the rematch between Anthony Hernandez and Brendan Allen could be an option. Facing the winner of Jared Cannonier – Gregory Rodrigues could also be an option. No matter what, I don’t think he’s done and I expect him to get a good fight next.