Israel Adesanya will return to action at the start of February, and he will do so in circumstances he hasn’t experienced in almost six years.
When Adesanya steps into the UFC octagon against Nassourdine Imavov in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in early 2025, it will be his first non-UFC title boutsince a unanimous decision win over Anderson Silva in Melbourne in early 2019.
Since then, the 35-year-old has fought 12 times; every appearance having a title on the line. February’s assignment will also be the first time Adesanya has not fought on a pay-per-view card since his unanimous decision win over Brad Tavares in July 2018 - just his third UFC appearance.
The bout between Adesanya and Imavov is expected to headline the card in Saudi Arabia, so it will be scheduled for five rounds if required.
The fight will be Adesanya’s first appearance since a submission loss to middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis in Perth in August, and the Nigerian-Kiwi will be out to halt a two-fight skid after he lost the title to Sean Strickland in Sydney in September 2023.
Adesanya’s last win came in April 2023 when he knocked out Alex Pereira to reclaim the UFC middleweight championship.
Born in Russia but fighting under the French flag, 28-year-old Imavov boasts a 15-4 (7-2 UFC) record with another bout being ruled a no-contest, and has surged to No 5 in the division on the back of a three-fight winning streak. He was impressive when beating fellow ranked middleweight Brendan Allen by unanimous decision in Paris earlier this year, and the booking with Adesanya shapes up as the biggest test of his career.
For Adesanya, he will look to fend off one of the hungry young athletes in the division to maintain his place at No 2 (ranked behind Strickland, with du Plessis still the champion), in a meeting that is likely to play out on the feet.
The bout will be part of UFC Fight Night 250 staged at Riyadh’s ANB Arena and was one of two middleweight clashes announced on the card.
No 14-ranked Shara Magomedov of Russia will put his number and his undefeated record on the line when he welcomes Englishman Michael “Venom” Page to the division in a fight to excite the fans.
The February 2 event will be the last on the schedule before the UFC’s return Downunder, with Sydney hosting UFC 312 a week later. Du Plessis will put his middleweight title on the line against Strickland in the main event – a rematch of their January clash that saw du Plessis dethrone the American. Zhang Weili will look to defend her strawweight title against American Tatiana Suarez in the co-main event.
At this stage, only one Kiwi has been announced for the Sydney card, with heavyweight Justin Tafa making his return against Brazilian Tallison Teixeira.
