UFC Riyadh Start Time, Full Fight Card Details!

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is back at it again after a rare week off, kicking off 11 straight weeks of action with UFC Saudi Arabia later TODAY (Feb., 1, 2025) inside anb Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Headlining the ESPN+-streamed event will be a Middleweight collision between former champion, Israel Adesanya, taking on tough contender, Nassourdine Imavov. In the co-main event, Shara Magomedov will face Michael Page in another hard-hitting, 185-pound affair.

What’s Hot:

For the first time in 13 fights and six years, Adesanya will take part in a non-title bout when he goes up against Imavov, the fast-rising French contender. Indeed, 12 of “The Last Stylebender’s” 15 fights inside the Octagon have been for UFC titles, so this is essentially uncharted territory for the former 185-pound champion, who failed to dethrone current division kingpin, Dricus du Plessis, in his last fight at UFC 305. Now, the hard-hitting and exciting striker will attempt to get back into the win column, hunting for a victory coming off back-to-back losses. If we go back a bit further, he is 1-3 in his last four fights. It’s something that we have seen before, sadly, as a once-dominant champion starts trending downward. Adesanya says he still has a lot of fight left in him, but that needs to equate into wins if he wants to get back into title contention. His next challenge, however, will not make it easy on him.

Imavov has been fighting for UFC for about five years now and this will be his fourth chance to headline a major event. He is 2-1 in his previous headlining bouts with his lone loss coming against former champion, Sean Strickland. His last two opportunities came with wins over Roman Dolidze and Jared Cannonier, and his most recent main event victory saw him take out Cannonier via strikes (though it was very controversial). Still, this man is as dangerous as they come. With a record of 7-2-1 under UFC’s banner, Imavov is currently holding down the No. 5 spot, and the well-rounded combatant wants more. A win over Adesanya will get him just that, and it could send him skyrocketing toward his first-ever title shot, assuming Khamzat Chimaev doesn’t finally get his, first. This isn’t an easy fight for neither man but most are counting on Adesanya to get back on track here. I wouldn’t dismiss Imavov that easily, however, because not only can he stand-and-bang, he is an excellent grappler, where he has an advantage over Izzy.

What’s Not:

Other than the early start time, there isn’t a whole lot to be critical of here because if I am being 100 percent honest, this free “Fight Night” event is much more intriguing than the upcoming UFC 312 pay-per-view (PPV) card next weekend, which features two title fights. But, that is just one man’s opinion.

Original Card Vs. Actual Card:

A Lightweight bout between Jordan Leavitt vs. Abdul-Kareem Al-Selwady was scratched from the card after Leavitt withdrew for unspecified reasons and was replaced by Bolaji Oki. One week before fight night, Oki withdrew for unknown reasons and Al-Delwady was removed from the card altogether.

Injuries:

Andre Muniz suffered a hand fracture and was forced out of his fight against Ikram Aliskerov and is expected to be rescheduled at a later time.

New Blood:

After two stints on Contender Series — one loss and one win — rising Featherweight prospect, Bogdan Grad, will finally get his chance to make his official debut. The Austrian did get knocked out by Tom Nolan in his first attempt to get a contract, but bounced back nicely and put one a great performance against Michael Aswell in a back-and-forth affair. Now that he is in, the scrappy fighter will look to make the most of his opportunity and add to his impressive finish rate that includes eight knockouts and two submissions, with seven of those coming in the very first round. He will be taking on Lucas Alexander, who is 8-4 including going an even 2-2 under the UFC banner.

How The ‘Prelims’ Look:

Kaan Ofli’s debut didn’t go as planned after getting knocked out by Mairon Santos in Aug. 2024, snapping his eight-fight winning streak. Now he is back to improve in what will be his sophomore UFC effort against Muhammad Naimov, who had his six-fight win streak snapped in his last fight by Felipe Lima, who submitted him with a rear-naked choke last summer.

After quitting on the stool in round four against Jairzinho Rozenstruik, Shamil Gaziev bounced back to secure a win against Don’Tale Mayes. The talented Heavyweight has only gone the distance twice in his career, so he is used to getting the job done early and often, as he obviously tries to stay away from going three rounds. His opponent, Thomas Petersen, also likes to get in and out as fast as possible with eight of his nine wins coming by way of stoppage, six of them in the very first round. Something’s got to give here.

Terrance McKinney got off to a mighty fine start in his UFC career with back-to-back lightning quick finishes (sample here), but he has since cooled down a bit, racking up a sub-par 3-4 record. He is coming off a devastating knockout loss at the hands of Esteban Ribovics, which took all of 37 seconds (see it here), so getting back in the win column is priority number one against Damir Hadžović, who is just 1-3 in his last four UFC fights.

Kicking off all of the action will be a Heavyweight matchup between Hamdy Abdelwahab and Jamal Pogues. Abdelwahab is undefeated at 5-0-1, but his UFC debut didn’t go as planned after his split decision win for over Don’Tale Mayes was overturned to a no contest (NC) after he tested positive for methenolone. So, aside from staying clean he needs to be on his “A” game if he wants to secure his first UFC victory against Pogues, who is 2-1 inside the Octagon.

Who Needs A Win Badly:

Israel Adesanya needs a win in the worse way since he is on a two-fight losing streak and has lost three of his last four. That said, he needs it more for his confidence and sanity because let’s face it, he isn’t getting cut with a loss. Mayra Bueno Silva, however, isn’t afforded that same security because she is not as established as “The Last Stylebender.” Bueno-Silva has lost two straight fights, as well. She hasn’t won a fight since Feb. 2023 because her win over Holly Holm was overturned to a no contest (NC) after she failed a post-fight drug test. That said, another loss coupled with her transgressions could prompt the promotion to part ways with her should she come up short against Jasmine Jasudavicius, who is currently on a three-fight win streak.

Interest Level: 7.5/10

Let’s be real, most of the intrigue of this event is due to this banger of a fight between Michael Page and Shara Magomedov, who have been pegged with co-headlining duties. Magomedov is undefeated at 15-0, which includes going a perfect 4-0 inside the Octagon with two knockouts and three post-fight bonuses to boast off. “Bullet” is coming off one of the best knockouts of 2024 after eliminating Armen Petrosyan with double spinning backfists at UFC 308 (yes, really).

Magomedov is as exciting, entertaining and scary as they come, and he is well on his way to stardom if he can keep wowing the UFC brass. Standing in his way is none other than former Bellator champion, Michael Page, who is 1-1 so far under the brights lights of UFC. He started off with a win over Kevin Holland, but then fell short against Ian Machado Garry, losing a unanimous decision that many felt could have gone the other way. That said, Page has a huge opportunity hear to put himself on the map even more by stopping “Bullet” in his track. On the flip side of that coin, Magomedov can raise his stock by taking out a former champion with a loyal fan base. This one should be fun, and will likely end in a finish.

Sergei Pavlovich (No. 4) was one win away from potentially facing Jon Jones in a 265-pound title fight before he ran into Tom Aspinall, who knocked him out in a little over a minute to claim the interim Heavyweight title at UFC 295 (see it again here). But instead of things getting better for him in his next fight they got worse after he was on the wrong side of a unanimous decision defeat at the hands of Alexander Volkov. Now, he will attempt to snap the longest losing streak of his career when he goes toe-to-toe against Jairzinho Rozenstruik (No. 9), who has won back-to-back fights over Tai Tuivasa and Shamil Gaziev.

Said Nurmagomedov has been fighting for UFC for over six years now and he hasn’t quite made the splash he would’ve liked despite having a 7-2 record. At Bantamweight he is currently not ranked and neither is his opponent, Vinicius Oliveira, who is currently on a four-fight win streak, two of those coming inside the Octagon.

Farès Ziam is one of the rising contenders in the 155-pound division, winning four straight fights and with a record of 6-2 inside the Octagon. That said, he still has a lot of work to do if he wants to somehow occupy a Top 15 ranking, which is hard to come by at 155 pounds. As for Mike Davis, he has racked up five straight wins after he suffered a loss to Gilbert Burns in his debut fight five years ago.

Enjoy the fights!

Full UFC Saudi Arabia Fight Card:

UFC Saudi Arabia Main Event on ESPN+:

185 lbs.: Israel Adesanya vs. Nassourdine Imavov

UFC Saudi Arabia Main Card on ESPN+ (12 p.m. ET):

185 lbs.: Shara Magomedov vs. Michael Page
265 lbs.: Sergei Pavlovich vs. Jairzinho Rozenstruik
135 lbs.: Said Nurmagomedov vs. Vinicius Oliveira
185 lbs.: Ikram Aliskerov vs. Andre Muniz — POSTPONED (details here)
155 lbs.: Fares Ziam vs. Mike Davis

UFC Saudi Arabia Prelims Card on ESPN+ (9 a.m. ET):

145 lbs.: Muhammad Naimov vs. Kaan Ofli
265 lbs.: Shamil Gaziev vs. Thomas Petersen
155 lbs.: Terrance McKinney vs. Damir Hadzovic
125 lbs.: Jasmine Jasudavicius vs. Mayra Bueno Silva
145 lbs.: Bogdan Grad vs. Lucas Alexander
265 lbs.: Hamdy Abdelwahab vs. Jamal Pogues
155 lbs.: Bolaji Oki vs. Abdul-Kareem Al-Selwady — SCRATCHED (details here)

*Fight card, bout order and number of fights remain subject to change.*

MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC Saudi Arabia fight card RIGHT HERE, starting with the ESPN+ preliminary card matchups, which are scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. ET, followed by the remaining main card balance on ESPN+ at 12 p.m. ET.

To check out the latest and greatest UFC Saudi Arabia news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive here. For the updated and finalized “Adesanya vs. Imavov” fight card and ESPN+ lineup click here.

This news first appeared on MMA Mania. Read the original article.