UFC Saudi Arabia Results: Winners & Losers

In a somewhat surprising development, Nassourdine Imavov scored a second-round knockout win over Israel Adesanya in the main event of Saturday’s UFC Saudi Arabia fight card. The loss was Adesanya’s first UFC setback in a non-title fight, while the victory improved Imavov to 4-0 in his past four outings. More importantly, who he beat and how he did it, should put Imavov in the conversation to face the winner of next weekend’s UFC 312 main event. In that contest, current UFC middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis faces former champ Sean Strickland, who has a UFC light heavyweight victory over Imavov. Below, we look at the UFC Saudi Arabia results, winners, losers, scorecards, reactions, video highlights, and more.

The main card for UFC Saudi Arabia streamed on ESPN+ following prelims on the same service. The main card begins at 12:00 p.m. ET, while prelims start at 9 a.m. ET.

In the UFC Saudi Arabia co-main event, Michael “Venom” Page, moving from welterweight to middleweight, scored a decision win over the previously undefeated Shara “Bullet” Magomedov.

UFC Saudi Arabia Results – Winners

Nassourdine Imavov: Nassourdine Imavov made an enormous statement in the main event of Saturday’s UFC Saudi Arabia fight card, handing former UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya the first loss of his UFC career in a non-title fight.

Imavov entered UFC Saudi Arabia as a slight underdog. He looked confident, calm, and dialed in for his first fight of 2025. He had some success in his striking in the first round, sneaking an uppercut through the opponent’s guard with 70 seconds left in the stanza, but Adesanya recovered quickly and answered back.

Adesanya could not recover from the combination that Imavov landed early in the second round. Imavov landed an overhand right that cleared the low guard of his foe. That blow landed flush on Adesanya’s chin and staggered the former champ to the fence. With Adesanya off balance, Imavov sent the ex-champ to the mat with a left uppercut. From there, he wrapped things up with ground strikes.

The 29-year-old is now unbeaten in his past five outings. Imavov went 3-0 in 2024, and he could find himself matched up against the winner of next week’s UFC 312 main event between UFC middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis and Sean Strickland. Strickland has a 2023 win over Imavov in a short-notice light heavyweight matchup.

Michael “Venom” Page: Michael Page is a hard fighter to face. His constant movement and dynamic striking make him a puzzle for many fighters. You can add Shara “Bullet” Magomedov to that long list of fighters as Page handed Magomedov the first loss of his career on Saturday.

Sergei Pavlovich: Sergei Pavlovich fought a smart but not exciting fight against Jairzinho Rozenstruik. Knowing his opponent could exploit aggression and sloppy striking, Pavlovich was patient on the feet, looking to use his striking to get the fight to the mat, which he did in each round. Once on the ground, Pavlovich held the fight there.

It was not the most visually appealing contest, but it got Pavlovich, who was coming off back-to-back losses to Tom Aspinall and Alexander Volkov, back in the win column.

Vinicius Oliveira: Vinicius Oliveira reported that he entered UFC Saudi Arabia with injured ribs, but that did not slow him down in picking up a decision win over Said Nurmagomedov. Oliveira moved to 3-0 with his decision win on Saturday.

Oliveira’s plan was to pressure Nurmagomedov and tax his cardio. That plan worked to perfection.

Fares Ziam: Fares Ziam moved his UFC winning streak to five straight with a unanimous decision win over Mike Davis, who seemed to want to test Ziam’s grappling skills. Davis’ approach was a surprise, but Ziam’s striking and ground defense were too much for his opponent. The 27-year-old has gotten better with each UFC outing.

Ziam was very effective in his striking, landing a nasty knee that opened a cut on Davis’ forehead in the second and also finding openings for elbows.

Muhammad Naimov: Coming off his first loss in three years, Muhammad Naimov looked to use his striking in the early going of his featherweight contest against Kaan Ofli. Naimov showcased speedy strikes, mixed techniques, and the ability to unload combinations when given time and space.

Naimov picked things up in the third round and looked for a stoppage via ground strikes, and when that failed, to create an opening for a submission.

He didn’t get the stoppage, but the 30-year-old picked up the decision win.

Shamil Gaziev: Shamil Gaziev moved to 14-1 as a pro and 3-1 in the UFC with his second UFC KO, finishing Thomas Peterson in the first round with a walk-off knockout win.

Terrance McKinney: As he usually does, Terrance McKinney started fast against Damir Hadzovic. That aggression paid off as he picked up a first-round TKO win on the mat after Hadzovic attempted to slow things down with a takedown.

Jasmine Jasudavicius: Jasmine Jasudavicius moved her winning streak to four straight with a dominant flyweight win over Mayra Bueno Silva in Saudi Arabia. Jasudavicius’ game plan was to use her striking and top game to prevent Bueno Silva from using her grappling skills. She executed that plan well in picking up a unanimous decision.

Jasudavicius did have a submission scare in the first stanza, but she was able to work through that and dominate the rest of the fight.

Bogdan Grad: Bogdan Grad’s goal was to get Lucas Alexander to the mat. He struggled with his opponent’s striking, but his fight IQ allowed him to take advantage of a lazy kick in the second round. Once Grad got the fight to the ground, he was aggressive in his striking, moving to mount where he rained down blows that Alexander could not defend.

Grad is a work in progress, and he needs to develop his striking and striking defense, but he is a threat on the mat.

UFC Saudi Arabia Results – Losers

Israel Adesanya: Israel Adesnya looked focused and confident against Nassourdine Imavov, but he fell to the underdog in the second stanza.

Adesanya, who is now on a three-fight losing skid, might have reached the point in his career where his speed and reflexes have slowed just enough to leave him susceptible; after all, he entered Saturday’s fights at 35, the age at which those attributes begin to slip for UFC competitors.

I doubt we have seen the last of Adesanya, but the question he and his stellar team at City Kickboxing need to answer is, what adjustments can they make to allow the former champ to get back to the top of the middleweight division?

Shara “Bullet” Magomedov: Shara Magomedov lost some of his allure on Saturday when he failed to negotiate the puzzle that is the style of Michael “Venom” Page.

Magomedov only landed one head strike through the first 10 minutes of this fight. His overall landing rate in the first round was 36 percent. That tumbled to 23 percent in Round 2.

Jairzinho Rozenstruik: Jairzinho Rozenstruik is a good technical striker. The issue with his approach is that he waits on his opponent and reacts. Sergei Pavlovich was aware of that, so he employed a patient approach that exploited Rozenstruik’s inability to get off the mat.

The worst part of this fight for Rozenstruik was that when he was down two rounds to zero, he did not show any sense of urgency in the third round.

With the loss, Rozenstruik’s two-fight winning streak ended, and he’s likely to drop far out of the top 10 of the heavyweight division due to his lackluster performance in Saudi Arabia.

Said Nurmagomedov: Said Nurmagomedov had been out of action since October 2023, and that lack of Octagon time seemed to affect him on Saturday against Vinicius Oliveira, as Nurmagomedov faded as the fight wore on, especially in the third stanza.

Mike Davis: Fans expecting a striking battle between Mike Davis and Fares Ziam were surprised to find that Davis wanted to test the grappling of his opponent. Davis had some success in the second stanza when he strung together a leg lock, a calf cutter and a head and arm choke, but his lanky foe worked through those holds and dominated the striking in the bout.

Kaan Ofli: Kaan Ofli did not have much to offer Muhammad Naimov outside of locking up his opponent against the fence. With the loss, Olfi is 0-2 in the UFC .

Damir Hadzovic: Damir Hadzovic fell to 1-4 since 2019 with a first-round TKO loss to Terrance McKinney. Hadzovic tried to deal with the first-round pressure from McKinney, but he could not, absorbing too many ground strikes for the liking of referee Jason Herzog.

Mayra Bueno Silva: Mayra Bueno Silva, a recent UFC women’s bantamweight title challenger, looked to end a two-fight losing skid by moving down to flyweight. The weight class change did not help her as outside of a brief submission threat in the first round, Bueno Silva had little to offer Jasudavicius.

Bueno Silva tried to up her aggression in the third round, but once Jasudavicius got the fight to the mat, Bueno Silva showed no sense of urgency to regain her feet, and she spent the last three minutes of the round on her back.

Bueno Silva is winless since February 2023.

Lucas Alexander: Lucas Lexander missed weight for his featherweight matchup against Bogdan Grad. Alexander looked good when he was able to strike from distance. His striking techniques were varied and effective, however, once Grad got the fight to the mat, Alexander had no answer for the ground strikes of his foe.

Hamdy Abdelwahab vs. Jamal Pogues: The UFC Saudi Arabia fight card began with a slow-paced heavyweight affair. Neither participant in this bout, Hamdy Abdelwahab or Jamal Pogues, did, or attempted to do, anything that would make them stand out in a shallow weight division.

Pogues fought behind a fast and effective jab, while Abdelwahab looked to throw his strikes with full power.

In short, this was not a great fight.

UFC Saudi Arabia Results Full Fight Card

UFC Saudi Arabia Results – Main Card

Nassourdine Imavov defeats Israel Adesanya via knockout at 0:30 of Round 2 (Punch to head at distance)

Michael Page defeats Shara Magomedov via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)

Sergei Pavlovich defeats Jairzinho Rozenstruik via unanimous decision (30-27 x 3)

Vinicius Oliveira defeats Said Nurmagomedov via unanimous decision (29-28 x 3)

Fares Ziam defeats Mike Davis via unanimous decision (30-27 x 3)

UFC Saudi Arabia Results – Preliminary Card

Muhammad Naimov defeats Kaan Ofli via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)

Shamil Gaziev defeats Thomas Peterson via TKO at 3:12 of Round 1 (Punch to head at distance)

Terrance McKinney defeats Damir Hadžović via TKO at 2:01 of Round 1 (Punches to head from back control)

Jasmine Jasudavicius defeats Mayra Bueno Silva via unanimous decision (30-27 x 3)

Bogdan Grad defeats Lucas Alexander via TKO at 4:22 of Round 2 (Punches to head from mount)

Hamdy Abdelwahab defeats Jamal Pogues via split decision (27-30, 29-28, 29-28)

UFC Saudi Arabia Results – Bonuses

Performance of the Night: Nassourdine Imavov

Performance of the Night: Bogdan Grad

Fight of the Night: Vinicius Oliveira vs. Said Nurmagomedov

UFC Saudi Arabia Results – Video Highlights

UFC Saudi Arabia Results – Scorecards

UFC Saudi Arabia Main Event Preview: Israel Adesanya Vs. Nassourdine Imavov

Israel Adesanya (24-4) was a perfect 11-0 when he joined the UFC in 2018. The then 28-year-old had held titles with Hex Fight Series and AFC before joining the UFC. He had also fought twice for the Glory Kickboxing Middleweight crown before focusing on MMA.

Adesanya’s first fight was a “Performance of the Night” bonus-winning knockout of Rob Wilkinson in a bloody battle. After the win, Adesanya delivered a memorable post-fight interview with UFC commentator Jon Anik.

Decision wins over Marvin Vettori and Brad Tavares put Adesanya in the top 10 in the division. A first-round TKO over Derek Brunson then launched him to No. 6. A decision over a fading former UFC middleweight kingpin Anderson Silva followed.

That fight against Silva, which took place at UFC 234 in February 2019, was the last time Adesanya would compete in a non-title fight with the UFC.

In his next outing, Adesanya captured the interim UFC middleweight crown with a gut-check decision win over Kelvin Gastelum. Adesanya unified the titles in October 2019 with a knockout win over Robert Whittaker.

Title defense wins over Yoel Romero and Paulo Costa followed. Adesanya, looking to become a double UFC champ, moved to light heavyweight for his next fight against then UFC 205-pound titleholder Jan Blachowicz. Blachowicz handed Adesanya his first defeat, beating him by decision at UFC 259.

The middleweight champ bounced back from that setback with title defenses against Vettori, Whittaker. and Jared Cannonier.

A grudge match was next on Adesanya’s schedule as he faced the man who had defeated him twice under the Glory Banner, Alex Pereira, at UFC 281. Adesanya entered the fifth and final round of that contest ahead on the scorecards, only to get knocked out at 2:01 of that round.

Adesanya got revenge in April 2023 at UFC 287 when he knocked out Pereira in the second round.

In his next outing, at UFC 293, Adesanya dropped the belt to Strickland.

Adesanya is currently riding a two-fight losing skid after a UFC 305 submission loss to Dricus du Plessis in a title fight.

Adesanya seems to be relaxed and lose heading into Saturday’s fight card and with this not being a UFC title fight, the former champ feels less pressure ahead of this contest.

Nassourdine Imavov (15-4-0-1) was 8-2 when he first fought for the UFC. That bout came in October 2020, and he won a decision over Jordan Williams. Imavov went 3-1 in his next four UFC outings. In January 2023, Imavov was booked to face Kelvin Gastelum, but that fight fell apart when Gastelum withdrew. Sean Strickland stepped in on short notice to keep the fight, which was to be the main event, on the card. The only stipulation was that the meeting was to take place at light heavyweight. Strickland picked up a unanimous decision win in that scrap.

Imavov has fought four times since then. In June 2023 he faced Strickland’s teammate Chris Curtis at UFC 289, but that fight ended in a no contest when a clash of heads left Curtis unable to continue. Then, in February of this year, Imavov defeated Roman Dolidze by majority decision in a main event scrap on a UFC Fight Night card.

In June 2024, the 29-year-old scored a TKO win over former UFC middleweight title challenger Jared Cannonier in the main event of a June Fight Night card in Louisville.

Imavov took the best that Jared Cannonier had to offer in the first three rounds of their UFC Louisville main event and was in the process of turning the tables on the former UFC middleweight title challenger when referee Jason Herzog waved off the fight in the fourth stanza and awarded the victory to Imavov.

Cannonier’s game plan was a good one, but his approach of using leg kicks to slow his opponent and pick up control time against the cage didn’t work. Yes, the leg kicks scored for Cannonier, but they didn’t deter Imavov, who was mounting a comeback after falling behind 29-29 on two scorecards heading into the fourth round.

Before the fight was waved off, Imavov had honed in on Cannonier’s range and timing. He landed 60 percent of his significant strikes in the second round, 65 percent in the third, and 73 percent in the fourth before Herzog stopped the fight.

After his win, Imavov called for a matchup against former UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland. He did not get his wish. Instead, Imavov faced Brendan Allen in the co-main event of a UFC Fight Night event in Paris. Imavov won that contest via unanimous decision.

UFC Saudi Arabia Co-Main Event Preview: Shara Magomedov Vs. Michael Page

Shara “Bullet” Magomedov is a perfect 15-0 as an MMA fighter. The 30-year-old from Dagestan made his UFC in 2023.

Magomedov was 11-0 with 10 knockout wins when he signed with the UFC. His debut with the promotion took place after a highly publicized incident where he was reportedly arrested for hooliganism and disturbing public order in hometown of Makhachkala. Magomedov also had an incident at the ADCC Southeast Asia tournament in early 2023 where he kicked his opponent after tapping to a heel hook.

When Magomedov, who is blind in his right eye after he suffered an injury early in his career and undergoing eight surgeries, made his UFC debut in October 2023 he picked up a decision win over Bruno Silva in a fight where the newcomer was a -345 betting favorite.

In his next outing, which took place in June 2024, Magomedov picked up a “Performance of the Night” bonus for his third-round knockout win over Antonio Trocoli. Magomedov was a -535 betting favorite in that contest.

In August 2024, Magomedov earned a “Fight of the Night” bonus for his decision win over Michał Oleksiejczuk.

In his most recent outing, Magomedov made the highlight reels with a double-spinning backfist knockout win over Armen Petrosyan. The impressive KO earned him a “Performance of the Night” bonus.

Michael “Venom” Page (22-3) made a name for himself in Bellator, racking up big wins in sometimes spectacular fashion. He showed a knack for self-promotion and an ability to make fighters who weren’t on his level look bad. However, his run with that promotion was marked with questions about just how good he would be against the best fighters Bellator had to offer. After all, he lost the two biggest fights of his Bellator run, getting knocked out by Douglas Lima in the welterweight Grand Prix semifinal in 2019 and dropping a split decision to Logan Storley in a 2022 interim title fight.

The UFC tested Page in his promotional debut, matching him up against the always-game Kevin Holland. Page looked good in that fight, frustrating Holland with his odd striking style and picking up a unanimous decision win. In his next outing, Page dropped a decision to Ian Machado Garry at UFC 303.

Page has fought at welterweight for most of his career, so he is taking a step up to 185 pounds in this matchup.

UFC Saudi Arabia results, winners and losers and more will be updated live throughout tonight’s pay-per-view card.