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Imavov slays Adesanya in Saudi Arabia

football01 February 2025 19:53| © Backpage TXT
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Nassourdine Imavov claimed the biggest win of his career when he stopped former middleweight champion Israel Adesanya in the main event of a UFC Fight Night at the ANB Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Saturday night.

Imavov secured a fourth successive win and possibly put himself in line for a championship bout with an emphatic triumph over ‘The Last Stylebender’.

The first round was evenly contested, though Imavov landed the best shot with a shovel uppercut that snapped Adesanya’s head back.

Early in the second round, ‘The Sniper’ landed a brutal overhand right that put Adesanya off his feet, and followed it up with a left hook on the fence, and a flurry of punches on the ground to force a stoppage from the referee.

“Now the real desire for me is to fight for the belt,” said Imavov in his post-fight interview, hoping to face the winner between Dricus du Plessis and Sean Strickland, who have a championship match in Sydney next Sunday.

In the middleweight co-main event, Michael Page handed Sharaputdin Magomedov his first career defeat, triumphing via unanimous decision in a tactical showcase of mixing striking with a masterful defence.

“Shara Bullet is an amazing MMA fighter, regardless of this result he is gonna go on and do amazing things,” said Page after the fight.

The rest of the main card featured Fares Ziam, Vinicius Oliveira and Sergei Pavlovich claiming unanimous decision wins over Mike Davis (lightweight), Said Nurmagomedov (bantamweight) and Jairzinho Rozenstruik (heavyweight) respectively.

Next Sunday morning brings UFC 312 from the Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, Australia, headlined by a middleweight title match between Dricus du Plessis and Sean Strickland.

UFC FIGHT NIGHT MAIN CARD RESULTS

- Main event: Middlweight: Nassourdine Imavov def. Israel Adesanya via TKO (punches), R2, 0:30

- Middleweight: Michael Page def. Sharaputdin Magomedov via unanimous decision (30-27 30-27 29-28), R3, 5:00

- Heavyweight: Sergei Pavlovich def. Jairzinho Rozenstruik via unanimous decision (30-27 30-27 30-27), R3, 5:00

- Bantamweight: Vinicius Oliveira def. Said Nurmagomedov via unanimous decision (29-28 29-28 29-28), R3, 5:00

- Lightweight: Fares Ziam def. Mike Davis via unanimous decision (30-27 30-27), R3, 5:00

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