Former UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya makes his first non-title fight appearance since 2018 when he takes on surging contender Nassourdine Imavov in the main event of UFC Riyadh.
Adesanya capped off a remarkable championship run with six middleweight title defenses, second only to Anderson Silva’s ten. ‘Stylebender’s’ streak was cut short by perennial rival Alex Pereira in 2022, who went on to capture light heavyweight gold and reign as a dominant champion.
Despite suffering four defeats since becoming undisputed champion in 2019, Adesanya’s most challenging fight was his interim title fight with Kelvin Gastelum at UFC 236, widely regarded as one of the best championship fights ever.
Adesanya and Gastelum squared off in the co-main event to Dustin Poirier vs. Max Holloway 2 at UFC 236. Two interim title fights headlined the event, and Adesanya had just defeated Anderson Silva in a passing-of-the-torch fight at UFC 234.
Then 16-3, Gastelum was riding wins over Jacare Souza and Michael Bisping, the latter of whom had just lost the middleweight title to Georges St-Pierre. Because of this high-profile victory, he was launched into the middleweight title picture, but none could have expected the fireworks to follow.
Their fight was a mixed bag of momentum swings, with Gastelum hurting Adesanya in the opening frame, putting a dent in the future champion for the first time seen in the UFC.
Adesanya’s kickboxing pedigree shone through as he found his way back into the fight, but a late head kick by Gastelum almost secured the upset in round four; Gastelum’s decision to chase a takedown after wobbling Adesanya is still contentious.
Adesanya tipped the fight in his favor with a dominant fifth round. He knocked Gastelum down three times in the final frame, almost finding the finish. Gastelum had never been knocked out by this point and hasn’t since. Adesanya’s efforts scored him a 10-8 round on all three judges’ scorecards, making him the new interim middleweight champion.
Do-or-die for Israel Adesanya at UFC Saudi Arabia
Adesanya faces the prospect of losing three fights in a row with a defeat at UFC Saudi Arabia on February 1. He comes up against No. 5-ranked middleweight Nassourdine Imavov. ‘The Sniper’ burst onto the scene with a dominant TKO over Edmen Shahbazyan in 2021 and has only been defeated once since then.
Imavov looks to secure his first-ever title shot with a victory over Adesanya, especially since his last five performances have been somewhat contentious. Since losing to Sean Strickland in 2023, Imavov has pieced together a 3-0 (1NC) record. Still, two of those victories were ugly decisions, and his one TKO win was arguably an early stoppage against Jared Cannonier.
It truly is do-or-die for both fighters as Imavov justifies his spot in the middleweight top-five, and Adesanya looks to prove he can still hang at a championship level.
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