Israel Adesanya is set for his first non-title bout in years, as he returns to headline UFC Saudi Arabia.
Adesanya will face Nassourdine Imavov in the main event of the Fight Night card, set for the ANB Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on February 1, 2025.
UFC President and CEO Dana White announced the booking on Saturday. Knockout Alerts was first to report news of the pairing.
“The Last Stylebender” was last seen being submitted by Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 305 in August. The fight was an attempt to reclaim the title he’d lost in his previous bout, against Sean Strickland.
The losses to Du Plessis and Strickland mark the first time in Adesanya’s MMA career that he’s lost back-to-back fights. Yet combined with his November 2022 loss to Alex Pereira, Adesanya is just 1-3 across his last four fights. The lone win came in the rematch with “Poatan,” which had Adesanya briefly reclaim his 185lb title.
The ex-champ’s last non-title action came in 2019.
Nassourdine Imavov has been circling the top of the middleweight division for a while, but has yet to secure the signature win that would truly cement his status as a title contender. A victory over Israel Adesanya, however, would almost certainly provide that. The French middleweight has won three straight, against Roman Dolidze, Jared Cannonier, and Brendan Allen.
