The UFC returns to Saudi Arabia for the second time on Saturday, with this sophomore UFC Saudi Arabia card headlined by former middleweight champ Israel Adesanya, looking for a return to form against contender Nassourdine Imavov.
For “The Last Stylebender,” at one point the biggest star the UFC had to offer, it’s been years since he stepped into the octagon with a belt not on the line. The last time was against Anderson Silva in 2019; after that, there was an interim title fight against Kelvin Gastelum, one of many classic Adesanya performances. From there, the former kickboxing champ never looked back.
In more recent times, Adesanya has hit a rough patch. He lost his middleweight title, then reclaimed it, against Alex Pereira, closing out their rivalry- only to lose it again in a shocking upset against Sean Strickland. When Strickland dropped the belt to Dricus Du Plessis one fight later, the promotion booked Israel against the South African – a fight that saw Adesanya submitted for the first time in his career.
As for Imavov, he sits on a three-fight win streak, and with Du Plessis vs. Strickland 2 set to go down in a week, he could earn himself a shot at gold with a big win (the elephant in the room, of course, being Khamzat Chimaev).
Our picks are in for UFC Saudi Arabia – see how we feel the card will play out below!
| Writer / Fight | Ziam vs. Davis | Nurmagomedov vs. Oliveira | Pavlovich vs. Rozenstruik | Bullet vs. MVP | Adesanya vs. Imavov |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jay Anderson (8-2) |  |  |  |  |  |
| Alex Behunin (7-3) |  | | | | |
| Chris Prawdzik (7-3) | | | | | |
| Eddie Law (6-4) | |  | | | |
| Dylan Napoleone (6-4) | | | | | |
| Patrick McCorry (4-6) | | | | | |
| Mathis Dejasdins (4-6) | | | | | |
| Brett Cagle (4-6) | | | | |  |
A couple of landslides, notably in Shara Bullet vs. Michael “Venom” Page, but it’s the main event that stands out. Only one writer responding sees Nassourdine Imavov upsetting former champ Israel Adesanya at UFC Saudi Arabia.
