Nassourdine Imavov Pounds Out Israel Adesanya in UFC Saudi Arabia Stunner

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— Fights (@FIGHTZSS) February 1, 2025

“The Sniper” has just bagged some huge game.

Capping of what was on paper an excellent offering from the Ultimate Fighting Championship in Riyadh, Saudi, Arabia, the two men in the main event made sure to leave a lasting impression. Riding the first losing streak of his career, Israel Adesanya (24-5, 13-5 UFC) looked to bounce back in his first non-championship headliner in years. Standing his way was rising French talent Nassourdine Imavov (16-4, 1 NC; 8-2, 1 NC UFC), a worthy test for the ex-champ but one many prognosticators expected he would surpass comfortably. That was not meant to be, as Imavov punched his ticket to massive opportunities by shocking “The Last Stylebender” in the second round, scoring the flash knockdown and forcing referee Marc Goddard to step in.

As the fight began, Adesanya looked every bit of his former self, showing that at the age of 35 that he still had not lost a step. Keeping Imavov at bay in his trademark switch stance with plenty of lateral movement, Adesanya not only landed cleanly but turned any wrestling implemented by Imavov against him. The precision of the Nigerian-born Kiwi carried on into Round 2, with snappy leg kicks and piston-like jabs only interrupted by an eye poke. Although Adesanya waved off Goddard to keep the fight going, it may not have been in his best interest to do so. Springing forward with a massive right hook, “The Sniper” blasted the former middleweight kingpin and sent him crashing against the wall and down to the canvas with a devastating uppercut. Knowing the finish was right around the corner, the Frenchman leapt on the back of his downed foe and drilled him on the sides of the head with a few punches before Goddard said enough was enough at 30 seconds into the second stanza.

Once considered to be approaching all-time great Anderson Silva for the top middleweight in the sport’s history, the crestfallen Adesanya has now fallen short in three straight headliners. On the other hand, Imavov may have laid claim to a championship opportunity after recording the biggest victory of his career.

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Moving back to middleweight for the first time since he rode the Super Fight League circuit over a decade ago, Michael Page (23-3, 2-1 UFC) shrugged off any offense that Sharabutdin Magomedov (15-1, 4-1 UFC) hurled at him over three tepid rounds of cautious kickboxing. While Page occasionally found his range with a leaping shot, Magomedov could not connect upstairs for the good part of two rounds due to the elusiveness of “MVP.” The result was far from stunning, as neither man came close to performing a knockout that measured up to their respective highlight reels. As the dust settled, Page had done enough in the eyes of the three scorers, who saw it 30-27, 30-27 and 29-28 for the British kickboxer.

“I’m the captain now,” Page said to the camera, in reference to “Shara Bullet” dressing and representing himself as a pirate. Not only did he get back in the green, but “MVP” also procured some treasure in the form of a gold ring with MVP written on it in gemstones.

Much to the disappointment of the crowd packed inside of the anb Arena, Sergei Pavlovich (19-3, 7-3 UFC) and Jairzinho Rozenstruik (15-6, 9-6) authored one of the worst performances in recent memory over 15 grueling minutes. The heavyweights never got out of first gear, even when Pavlovich established top position in the latter two rounds and held on from above for minutes at a time. Unlike most of their previous encounters, the danger of the knockout was practically off the table early into the fight. Neither man willing to exchange much, boo birds whistled and howled as the fight dragged on. Even though both big men did little, Pavlovich was the more active of the two, so judges had no choice but to award him the unanimous decision with three 30-27 to put it all behind them.

While Pavlovich puts his first losing streak in the rear-view mirror, the outing did not likely earn him many fans or diminish the narrative that the upper echelon of the division may still elude him.

Springing the biggest betting upset of the day, Vinicius Oliveira (22-3, 3-0 UFC) thwarted the efforts of Dagestani ground specialist Said Nurmagomedov (18-4, 7-3 UFC). While Nurmagomedov, unrelated to the fighting family including Khabib Nurmagomedov and Usman Nurmagomedov, had success in the early going, his energy reserves depleted fairly rapidly. The Brazilian maintained a steady pace, wrenching his foe to the mat a few times and taking advantage of a slip to keep the 32-year-old from Fight Club Akhmat grounded for prolonged stretches to further exhaust him. When the final bell sounded, all three judges believed “LokDog” had done enough, giving him matching 29-28 nods on all sides.

Since debuting in the promotion in 2024 off of a one-hitter quitter on Dana White’s Contender Series, all Oliveira has done is win, notching his third victory in the Octagon thus far.

Related » UFC Saudi Arabia Round-by-Round Scoring

French striker Fares Ziam (17-4, 7-2 UFC) defused hard-charging Mike Davis (11-3, 4-2 UFC) over the course of three hard-fought rounds. The X-factor for the Frenchman was to mix in his wrestling, forcing Davis to not only defend takedowns but also become occupied with wondering when the next would come. This took some sting out of his blows, in addition to Davis suffering a mighty cut from a Ziam knee. “Smile Killer” was a step ahead, thwarting submission setups and depositing Davis to the mat repeatedly to get his hand raised. The victor was in no doubt when the dust settled, as Ziam laid claim to three 30-27 scores.

Quietly climbing the talent-rich lightweight division, Ziam has won five straight, although four have come at the hands of the judges.

Muhammadjon Naimov (12-3, 4-1 UFC) represented his proud nation of Tajikistan to conclude the prelims, taking a grappling-heavy decision over Australia Top Team rep Kaan Ofli (11-4-1, 0-2 UFC). When it was not Naimov landing his own takedown—needing just one for each of the first two rounds—it was Ofli running into the rock wall of “Hillman” and ultimately falling to his back. Try as he might, Ofli could not make up ground to sway judges in his favor. Two scorers issued tallies of 30-27 along with a single 29-28 card, all in favor of the rebounding Naimov.

This three-round victory places Naimov back in the win column after suffering his first career stoppage loss last June.

In other preliminary action, ranked heavyweight Shamil Gaziev (14-1, 3-1 UFC) flattened Thomas Petersen (9-3, 1-2 UFC) with one punch at 3:12 of the opening frame; Terrance McKinney (16-7, 6-4 UFC) kept his 100% finish rate intact by making short work of fellow lightweight Damir Hadzovic (14-8, 4-6 UFC), drumming out the Bosnian in a whisker over two minutes; Jasmine Jasudavicius (13-3, 7-2 UFC) represented women on the lineup by outgrappling ex-bantamweight Mayra Bueno Silva (10-5-1, 1 NC; 5-5-1, 1 NC UFC) en route to a clear-cut decision win with a trio of 30-27 scores; Lucas Alexander (8-5, 1-3 UFC) paid in spades by missing featherweight by 2.5 pounds and then getting pummeled with elbows and punches courtesy of the debuting Bogdan Grad (15-2, 1-0 UFC), with the finish coming in the second round at the 4:22 mark; the event kicked off with a slow-paced heavyweight striking affair as Hamdy Abdelwahab (6-0, 1 NC; 1-0, 1 NC UFC) returned from a lengthy suspension to capture a split verdict over Jamal Pogues (11-5, 2-2 UFC).