The UFC is making their return to Saudi Arabia on February 1st and we are going to see a major middleweight matchup in the main event. Dana White took to social media today to announce that former middleweight champion Israel Adesanya (24-4) will be taking on fifth ranked Nassourdine Imavov (15-4, 1 NC).
Starting with Imavov, this is a massive opportunity for the top middleweight contender. With a win, he will find himself in line for a title shot at 185 pounds. Imavov had an incredible 2024 that saw him go 3-0. He started the year off with a big win over Roman Dolidze and followed that by stopping Jared Cannonier. He capped his year by defeating Brendan Allen at UFC Paris.
UFC Saudi Arabia
This fight in February is going to seem like new territory for Israel Adesanya. Adesanya will be fighting in a non-title fight for the first time since he defeated Anderson Silva back in 2019. Since then, he’s been in nothing but world title fights.
The last time we saw Adesanya was back in September when he challenged Dricus Du Plessis for the middleweight title. The fight was very competitive but Adesanya was ultimately submitted in the second round. It was Adesanya’s second straight loss, but the former UFC champion made it clear that he’s not hanging up the gloves. If he’s able to beat Imavov in February he’ll be right back in the mix for a title shot.