Israel Adesanya's upcoming UFC Saudi Arabia headliner features 10 undercard fights with a nice mix of stylistic matchups and ranked contenders.
It's rare for former UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya to headline a UFC Fight Night card. But ahead of his UFC Saudi Arabia main event against Nassourdine Imavov, Adesanya's first Fight Night showcase will feature a pay-per-view quality undercard.
Adesanya and Imavov will face off in the UFC Saudi Arabia main event on February 1 in Riyadh. The card marks the promotion's return to the kingdom after staging a UFC Fight Night event in June, featuring another middleweight headliner between Robert Whittaker and Ikram Aliskerov.
Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
Adesanya returns to the cage for the first time to overcome back-to-back title fight defeats. While Adesanya's return against the rising Imavov tops the list, there are many extraordinary matchups on the undercard, including a middleweight co-main between Shara Magomedov and Michael 'Venom' Page.
Ranked fighters such as Sergei Pavlovich, Shamil Gaziev and Jairzinho Rozenstruik will also return to UFC Saudi Arabia.
Fans are going crazy after UFC Saudi Arabia's fight list with Israel Adesanya was revealed
After the UFC revealed the full fight list for the upcoming Saudi Arabia card, fans went wild on social media.
“This is a banging card,” one fan tweeted.
“Pretty phenomenal lineup for a fight night card! I'm looking forward to another great year of UFC events!”
“11/10 Fight Night.”
“Loaded UFC fight night card? Sign me up.”
“Ridiculous card.”
“Grab it, fans!”
“Am I traveling to Saudi Arabia alone to watch Shara??”
“[Riyadh Season] is dominating the fight game right now.”
UFC Saudi Arabia is one of several major events scheduled for the kingdom in 2025. Just three weeks after the UFC's return, Riyadh will play host to one of the most stacked cards in boxing history, with a light heavyweight title rematch between Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry. Bivol.
Israel Adesanya is looking for redemption after losing Dricus du Plessis
Adesanya faces a must-win situation at UFC Saudi Arabia to keep his title hopes within reach. After back-to-back defeats and nearing his late 30s, Adesanya's proposed retirement deadline is looming.
Adesanya came up short against Dricus du Plessis at UFC 305 earlier this year, losing by submission in the fourth round. It was the first time he was nominated in his MMA career and only the fourth loss in his UFC promotional tenure.
Before the du Plessis fight, Adesanya suffered one of the biggest upsets in UFC history against Sean Strickland at UFC 293 last year. The loss abruptly ended his second middleweight title run after regaining the belt against Alex Pereira at UFC 287.
Imavov is getting the biggest booking of his UFC career after recent wins over Jared Cannonier, Roman Dolidze and Brendan Allen. He is undefeated in his last four fights since a light heavyweight loss to Strickland last year.
Adesanya vs. Imavov is one of the first UFC fights of 2025, and the rest of the fight lineup presents a potentially all-time great event in Saudi Arabia.
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