RIYADH (Reuters) – Nassourdine Imavov scored a sensational second-round knockout win over former UFC champ Israel Adesanya to put his name in the title picture ahead of next week’s showdown between champion Dricus Du Plessis and Sean Strickland.
The 30-year-old Frenchman lived up to his nickname of “The Sniper” by landing a lightning-fast precision punch with his right hand to signal the beginning of the end of the fight early in the second round.
Fighting in a non-title fight for the first time since February 2019, Adesanya was attempting to kick-start another run for the belt that he controlled for several years before losing three of his last four attempts to be crowned champion.
He was dethroned by Brazil’s Alex Pereira in November 2022, but he won the rematch before losing the title again on points to American Strickland and suffering a submission defeat by Du Plessis of South Africa in his last outing in August 2024.
Nicknamed “Stylebender”, Adesanya started well, landing heavy kicks to the body and using feints to draw out his 30-year-old French opponent, who came into the fight following a run of three wins from three in 2024.
However, the tide turned sharply and the writing was on the wall for the Nigerian-born New Zealander when Imavov landed that thunderous overhand right on his jaw, following it up with a vicious left uppercut as his opponent stumbled to the canvas.
Referee Marc Goddard gave Adesanya a chance to recover but as Imavov continued to rain down blows, the referee waved off the fight, resulting in a knockout win for Imavov.
“I said it all week long that I was in perfect shape,” Imavov said through an interpreter. “I proved it tonight that I was the better striker. Now the real bonus for me is going to be to fight for the belt.”
In the co-main event, England’s Michael “Venom” Page scored a unanimous decision win over Shara Magomedov, handing the Russian middleweight the first loss of his professional MMA career in a tense, tactical battle during which Page used his unpredictable striking to out-point his opponent.
(This story has been corrected to fix Shara Magomedov’s name in paragraph 9)
(Reporting by Philip O’Connor)
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