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Fight By Fight Preview | UFC Saudi Arabia
Laying Out The Lineup For The UFC’s Return To The Kingdom Of Saudi Arabia On Saturday
By E. Spencer Kyte, on X @spencerkyte
After a successful maiden voyage to Saudi Arabia the start of June last year, the UFC returns this weekend with a loaded fight card capped by a pair of fascinating middleweight contests.
Headlined by a clash between former champ Israel Adesanya and ascending contender Nassourdine Imavov, with Shara Magomedov and Michael “Venom” Page as their opening act, Saturday’s slate promises to be the type of event that has an immediate and lasting impact on not only the 185-pound weight class, but a few others, as well.
Here’s a closer look at the matchups set to hit the cage this weekend.
Main Event Matchup: Israel Adesanya vs Nassourdine Imavov
Two-time middleweight titleholder Israel Adesanya makes his first non-title appearance since his rookie campaign in the UFC, facing off with surging all-round talent Nassourdine Imavov in Saturday’s captivating main event.
By the time these two hit the Octagon, it will have been just a touch under six years since Adesanya last competed in a non-title bout, which came at UFC 234, when he defeated the legendary Anderson Silva. After ruling the division for three years, reclaiming the title in April 2023, and having just a single loss on his record for the longest time, the now 35-year-old City Kickboxing representative enters on a two-fight skid, looking to show that he’s still a major factor in the 185-pound weight class.
It’s funny how the passing of time can change the way certain results land. After entering 2024 on a two-fight winless streak, Imavov opens 2025 having won three straight, unbeaten in his last four, and with his only loss over his last eight appearances coming in a short-notice light heavyweight bout against former champ and impending title challenger Sean Strickland. Consecutive wins over Jared Cannonier and Brendan Allen following his emotional, messy victory over Roman Dolidze at the start of last year have truly established the Paris-based standout as a legitimate contender in the middleweight ranks.
Despite recent results, anything is possible with Adesanya, and his history of excellence inside the Octagon garners him the benefit of the doubt when it comes to his setbacks, but Imavov is dangerous in every phase and is certainly capable of handing him a third straight loss.
Whatever happens, the winner will be in an outstanding position in the division as the title goes up for grabs next week in Sydney.
Additional Main Card Contests
Shara Magomedov vs Michael Page
Coming off one of the best knockouts of last year, Shara Magomedov looks for a fifth straight UFC victory when he steps in against walking highlight reel Michael “Venom” Page this weekend.
Magomedov opened his UFC run with solid wins over Bruno Silva, Antonio Trocoli, and Michal Oleksiejczuk, moving to 14-0 in the process. Last time out, however, the 30-year-old striker delivered his most impressive performance to date, knocking out Armen Petrosyan in the waning moments of the second round with a pair of thudding spinning backfists; yes, that’s plural.
“MVP” has split his first two appearances in the Octagon so far, earning a unanimous decision win over Kevin Holland in a bout where he showcased his trademark speed and striking acumen before landing on the wrong side of the results against Ian Machado Garry at UFC 303 when the Irish contender deployed a grappling-heavy approach. Now the 37-year-old moves up a division for a date with a fellow striker, with designs on putting on a show and bouncing him from the ranks of the unbeaten.
Can “Shara Bullet” continue to find the mark or will the serpentine Page get his fangs into him enough to earn the victory?
Sergei Pavlovich vs Jairzinho Rozenstruik
Top 10 heavyweights Sergei Pavlovich and Jairzinho Rosenstruik meet in a battle of ranked talents coming into this fight from opposite directions.
After rattling off six straight wins to emerge as a menacing force and championship threat in the heavyweight ranks, Pavlovich has dropped consecutive contests. He fell to Tom Aspinall in their short-notice interim title clash at UFC 295 in New York City, and was thoroughly out-hustled by fellow Russian Alexander Volkov last year as part of the UFC’s first visit to Saudi Arabia.
Conversely, Rozenstruik arrives having won back-to-back outings for the first time since opening his UFC career with four wins in 11 months. In March, “Bigi Boy” drove Shamil Gazievto the point of exhaustion, causing him to retire in his corner before the start of the fifth round, and followed it up in August with a split decision victory on the road in Perth against Tai Tuivasa in August.
Both men have the ability to end this fight in a hurry, but it’s going to be interesting to see how Rozenstruik opts to approach things, as dragging things into the late rounds served him well last year.
Vinicius Oliveira vs Said Nurmagomedov
This week’s entry in the “Man, Bantamweight is Stacked” files comes in the form of this outstanding clash between Vinicius Oliveira and Said Nurmagomedov.
Oliveira had an excellent rookie year in the UFC in 2024 after graduating from Dana White’s Contender Series (DWCS) the previous fall, posting a pair of wins to run his record to 21-3 overall. While his flying knee finish of Benardo Sopaj garnered all the headlines (understandably), his unanimous decision victory over Ricky Simon a little over three months later at UFC 303 was the performance that showed the considerable upside the Brazilian possesses.
Nurmagomedov makes the walk for the first time since October 2023, when he defeated Muin Gafurov in 73 seconds with his signature ninja choke. The 32-year-old bantamweight mainstay is 7-2 inside the Octagon, 18-3 overall, and the perfect veteran test for the surging, but still developing, Oliveira at this point of his career.
Fares Ziam vs Mike Davis
Quietly streaking lightweights Fares Ziam and Mike Davis face off in what should be an intriguing and impactful bout.
The 27-year-old Ziam has shown tremendous growth over his last four fights, climbing up the divisional ranks while stacking victories, including a beautiful third-round knockout of Frevola last time out. While injuries have forced him to the sidelines for long stretches, Davis also touches down in Saudi Arabia riding a four-fight winning streak, having most recently registered a second-round submission win over Natan Levy last March.
Muhammad Naimov vs Kaan Ofli
Muhammad Naimov and Kaan Olfi kick off Saturday’s main card in a clash of featherweight talents looking to get things moving in the right direction to begin the year.
Naimov earned wins in each of his first three UFC appearances to head into his June appearance in Riyadh last year with a ton of momentum. Unfortunately for the 30-year-old “Hillman,” Felipe Lima did to him what he had done to Jamie Mullarkey in his promotional debut by handing him a short-notice stoppage defeat.
Ofli advanced to the finals of the Ultimate Fighter 32 featherweight competition with strong wins over Nathan Fletcher and Roedie Roets during their time in the house. But Mairon Santos proved to be too much in August, stopping Ofli in the second round to scuttle his dreams of joining the fraternity of former Ultimate Fighter winners.
Featherweight is flush with talent through the “Second 15,” which makes this a critical fight for each man as they look to avoid a second straight loss. Both like to grapple, so it will be interesting to see who will have the upper hand when they invariably arrive in the clinch and hit the canvas.
Preliminary Card Contests
Shamil Gaziev vs Thomas Petersen
Shamil Gaziev faces Thomas Petersen in a battle of heavyweight graduates from DWCS.
Gaziev rebounded from his exhausting loss to Rozenstruik with a unanimous decision win over Don’Tale Mayes in August, moving to 13-1 overall in the process. Petersen similarly bouncedback from an early year setback last time out, showing improved striking while out-working former TUF winner Mohammad Usman in mid-July.
Terrance McKinney vs Damir Hadzovic
It’s a lightweight showdown in Saudi Arabia as Terrance McKinney and Damir Hadzovic share the Octagon on Saturday.
Since his stunning seven-second knockout win over Matt Frevola in his short-notice promotional debut, McKinney has struggled to find consistent success, posting a 4-4 mark while entering off a rapid knockout loss to Esteban Ribovics. Hadzovic competes here for the first time since July 2022, when he dropped a decision to Marc Diakiese, and looks to bring his record in the UFC back to even as he makes the walk for the 10th time this weekend.
Jasmine Jasudavicius vs Mayra Bueno Silva
Jasmine Jasudavicius welcomes Mayra Bueno Silva back to the flyweight division in this fascinating clash in the 125-pound weight class.
Niagara Top Team representative Jasudavicius has rattled off three straight wins, looking increasingly impressive in victories over Priscila Cachoeira, Fatima Kline, and Ariane da Silva in 2024. After failing in her bid to claim the vacant bantamweight title at UFC 297 last January, Bueno Silva landed on the wrong side of a stoppage loss due to a cut at UFC 303, and now returns to the flyweight division, where she posted a 2-2-1 record over five fights to begin her time with the promotion.
Bogdan Grad vs Lucas Alexander
DWCS Class of ’24 alum Bogdan Grad makes his first trek into the Octagon this weekend, facing off with dangerous Brazilian Lucas Alexander.
Grad punched his ticket to the UFC in his second appearance on the annual talent-search series last year, registering a split decision win over Michael Aswell after landing on the wrong side of things the previous year in a bout with Tom Nolan. Alexander has been difficult to peg through his first three Octagon appearances, debuting with a short-notice loss to JoandersonBrito before looking outstanding against Steven Peterson, only to turn around and get stopped in 91 seconds by Jeka Saragih last time out.
Hamdy Abdelwahab vs Jamal Pogues
Heavyweights open the show as Hamdy Abdelwahab and Jamal Pogues kick off the action at anb Arena this weekend.
Abdelwahab competes for the first time since UFC 277, when his decision win over Don’TaleMayes was overturned and ruled a no contest after he tested positive for banned substances and was handed a suspension. Pogues put together the best effort of his three-fight UFC run last time out, working behind his crisp boxing to register a unanimous decision win over Thomas Petersen.
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