The UFC’s return to Saudi Arabia for a Fight Night on Feb. 1 just got a massive upgrade to the pair of headlining bouts atop the bill.
Former two-time middleweight champion Israel Adesanya will compete in his first non-title bout since 2019 when he faces a streaking Nassourdine Imavov in the main event. In the co-feature, unbeaten slugger Sharabutdin “Shara Bullet” Magomedov welcomes striking sensation Michael “Venom” Page in a 185-pound bout.
The pair of fights were confirmed Saturday morning on social media by UFC CEO Dana White as the event is scheduled to take place at ANB Arena in Riyadh.
Adesanya (24-4) will look to shake off a recent skid that has saw the 35-year-old native of Nigeria lose three of his last four fights. The one victory during that stretch for Adesanya came at UFC 287 in 2023 when he knocked out Alex Pereira to regain the middleweight title in their rematch before then losing back-to-back title bouts against Sean Strickland and Dricus du Plessis.
Imavov (15-4, 1 NC), a 29-year-old native of Russia who fights out of France, is currently the No. 5-ranked middleweight in the UFC and enters riding a three-fight win streak against contenders Roman Dolidze, Jared Cannonier and Brendan Allen. Imavov has lost just once in his last eight fight when he dropped a competitive decision to Strickland in 2023.
A native of Dagestan, Russia, the 30-year-old Magomedov (15-0) has become a fan favorite in the Middle East, where all four of his UFC bouts have taken place. “Shara Bullet” returns to Riyadh for the first time since stopping Antonio Trocoli in January fresh off of a knockout-of-the-year contender against Armen Petrosyan when Magomedov recorded a second-round stoppage via double spinning backfist in October.
The 37-year-old Page (22-3), a longtime Bellator MMA star who made his UFC debut in March, took a unanimous decision from Kevin Holland before losing a competitive bout against Ian Machado Garry in June. “MVP,” known for his unorthodox karate style, moves up to middleweight for the first time since 2013.
