UFC Saudi Arabia results: Biggest winners, loser from ‘Adesanya vs. Imavov’

Adam Guillen has been writing (and translating) for MMAmania.com since 2011, covering the latest UFC, Bellator, PFL and other mixed martial arts (MMA) news and latest happenings throughout the combat sports world.

UFC Saudi Arabia went down yesterday (Sat., Feb. 1, 2025) inside anb Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on ESPN+. The main event saw former Middleweight champion, Israel Adesanya, suffer his third straight loss after Nassourdine Imavov knocked him out in round two (see it again here). In the co-main event, Michael Page handed Shara Magomedov his first loss, defeating him via unanimous decision (recap here).

Biggest Winner: Nassourdine Imavov

Imavov secured the biggest win of his mixed martial arts (MMA) career, disposing of “The Last Stylebender” in impressive (not controversial) fashion with a second round knockout win. That is now four straight wins for Imavov, who will move up a few pegs in the rankings and certainly make a case for a shot at the winner of the upcoming rematch between division champion, Dricus du Plessis, and Sean Strickland, which goes down at UFC 312 next weekend (Sat., Feb. 8, 2025) “Down Under.” That is, of course, if Khamzat Chimaev doesn’t stand in his way. Nevertheless, Imavov can sit back after his sweet victory to see how the pieces of the Middleweight puzzle fall into place in the coming weeks.

Runner Up: Michael Page

It wasn’t exactly flashy, but Page systematically took Magomedov from his usual aggressive pace and broke him down over the course of 15 minutes to rack up his biggest win inside the Octagon to date, all while handing “Bullet” his first-ever defeat. Page — using his timing and distance perfectly — improved to 2-1 under UFC’s banner with this victory, with his lone loss coming against top-ranked contender, Ian Machado Garry. Now, “Venom” assures himself a bigger opponent moving forward, where it will likely be at Welterweight after a successful Middleweight debut. That’s because Page revealed post-fight that he still has business to take care of at 170 pounds.

Biggest Loser: Israel Adesanya

Many were expecting this to be “The Last Stylebender’s” bounce back fight, the one where he turns it all around. Instead, things went from bad to worse for the former Middleweight champion of the world, who has now lost three straight fights. He is just 1-4 in his last five contests, and things just don’t look to be trending upward anytime soon for the man who many considered at one time to be the future face of the promotion. Where he goes from here is anyone’s guess, but he needs to figure out something fast.

For complete UFC Saudi Arabia results, coverage and highlights click HERE.