Israel Adesanya’s first non-title bout since 2019 did not go as planned. The former two-time UFC middleweight champion suffered a shocking loss Saturday at UFC Saudi Arabia, falling victim to a second-round knockout at the hands of Nassourdine Imavov at Anb Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Mere seconds after a restart from an inadvertent eye poke from Imavov, the Frenchman caught Adesanya clean with a thunderous right hand, then sealed his biggest win to date with a vicious left uppercut and follow-up punches. Adesanya briefly appeared to protest referee Marc Goddard’s stoppage, however, the former middleweight king was turtled up and eating several unanswered strikes.
The finish officially came just 30 seconds into the second round.
With a four-fight win streak in tow, Imavov (16-4, 1 NC) called for a shot at the UFC middleweight title, which is being contested Feb. 8 at UFC 312 in a rematch between reigning champion Dricus du Plessis and former champ Sean Strickland.
“I proved I was the better striker. Now the real bonus for me is going to be to fight for the belt,” Imavov proclaimed.
“I promised you a special surprise tonight. That was the surprise.”
Adesanya (24-5) fought well in the opening round, taking an early lead with his trademark rangy striking attack and elusive footwork. However, Imavov did crack him with a hard shovel uppercut right hand in that first stanza — a shot that proved to be prophetic just minutes later.
Adesanya, 35, is widely considered to be one of the greatest middleweights to ever compete in MMA, but has now lost three consecutive bouts and four of his past five UFC outings.
Imavov, 29, likely shoots to the top of the UFC middleweight rankings with Saturday’s win, though he’ll have to jockey alongside feared contender Khamzat Chimaev in the chase for the next title shot.
In the co-main event, Michael Page moved up in weight and toppled Shara Magomedov from the ranks of the unbeaten in a one-sided striking affair, rebounding from his first UFC loss with a unanimous decision showcase.
Check out full UFC Saudi Arabia results and highlights below, as well as Uncrowned’s play-by-play of all the action from the entire card.
Main Card
Nassourdine Imavov def. Israel Adesanya via TKO (punches) at :30 of Round 2 | Watch finish
Michael Page def. Shara Magomedov via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Sergei Pavlovich def. Jairzinho Rozenstruik via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Vinicius Oliveira def. Said Nurmagomedov via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Fares Ziam def. Mike Davis via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Preliminary Card
Muhammad Naimov def. Kaan Ofli via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Shamil Gaziev def. Thomas Peterson via KO (punch) at 3:12 of Round 1 | Watch finish
Terrance McKinney def. Damir Hadzovic via TKO (strikes) at 2:01 of Round 1 | Watch finish
Jasmine Jasudavicius def. Mayra Bueno Silva via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Bogdan Grad def. Lucas Alexander via TKO (strikes) at 4:22 of Round 2 | Watch finish
Hamdy Abdelwahab def. Jamal Pogues via split decision (29-28, 27-30, 29-28)
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