Adesanya vs Imavov

Who won Adesanya vs Imavov?

Nassourdine Imavov beat Israel Adesanya by knockout in the 2nd round during the main event of UFC Fight Night, on Saturday 1st February 2025 at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh.

The fight was scheduled to take place over 5 rounds in the Middleweight division, which meant the weight limit was 185 pounds (13.2 stone or 83.9 KG).

Adesanya vs Imavov stats

Israel Adesanya stepped into the octagon with a record of 24 wins, 4 losses and 0 draws, 16 of those wins coming by the way of knock out.

Nassourdine Imavov made his way to the cage with a record of 15 wins, 4 losses and 0 draws, 6 of those wins coming by knock out and 4 by submission.

This was Israel Adesanya's 18th fight in the UFC, having made his debut for the promotion in 2018. Nassourdine Imavov marked his 11th fight for them, having made his own debut for the promotion in 2020.

Israel Adesanya's UFC record stood at 13-5-0, while Nassourdine Imavov's came in at 8-2-0.

The stats suggested Adesanya had a large advantage in power over Imavov, boasting a 67% knock out percentage over Imavov's 40%.

If the fight went to the ground, their records suggested Imavov had a large advantage over Adesanya, boasting a 27% submission rate over Adesanya's 0%.

Israel Adesanya was the older man by 6 years, at 35 years old.

Adesanya had a height advantage of 1 inch over Imavov. That also extended to a 4-inch reach advantage.

Adesanya was the more experienced professional fighter, having had 9 more fights, and made his debut in 2012, 3 years and 10 months earlier than Imavov, whose first professional fight was in 2016. He had fought 34 more professional rounds, 82 to Imavov's 48.

Adesanya vs Imavov form

Adesanya had beaten 2 of his last 5 opponents, stopping 1 of them, going to the judges once.

In his last fight before this contest, he had lost to Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 305 on 17th August 2024 by submission in the 4th round in their UFC Middleweight championship fight at RAC Arena, Perth, Western Australia.

Previous to that, he had been beaten by Sean Strickland at UFC 293 on 9th September 2023 by unanimous decision in their UFC Middleweight championship fight at Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney, Australia.

Going into that contest, he had won against Alex Pereira at UFC 287 on 8th April 2023 by knockout in the 2nd round in their UFC Middleweight championship fight at Miami-Dade Arena, Miami, United States.

Before that, he had been defeated by Alex Pereira at UFC 281 on 12th November 2022 by knockout in the 5th round in their UFC Middleweight championship fight at Madison Square Garden, New York City.

He had beaten Jared Cannonier at UFC 276 on 2nd July 2022 by unanimous decision in their UFC Middleweight championship fight at T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas.

Imavov had beaten 3 of his last 5 opponents, stopping 1 of them, going the distance twice.

In his last fight leading up to this contest, he had defeated Brendan Allen at UFC Fight Night: Moicano vs. Saint-Denis on 28th September 2024 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at Accor Arena, Paris, France.

Previous to that, he was victorious against Jared Cannonier at UFC Fight Night: Cannonier vs. Imavov on 8th June 2024 by knockout in the 4th round at KFC Yum! Center, Louisville, United States.

Going into that contest, he had won against Roman Dolidze at UFC Fight Night: Dolidze vs. Imavov on 3rd February 2024 by majority decision in their 5 round contest at UFC Apex, Las Vegas.

Before that, his fight against Chris Curtis at UFC 289 on 10th June 2023 ended in a no contest.

He had lost to Sean Strickland at UFC Fight Night: Gastelum vs. Imavov on 14th January 2023 by unanimous decision in their 5 round contest in the United States.

Activity check

In terms of activity leading into the fight, Nassourdine Imavov had been fighting more than Israel Adesanya.

Going to this contest, Israel Adesanya had last fought 7 months and 12 days ago, while Nassourdine Imavov's last outing had been 6 months and 1 day ago.

Adesanya's last 5 fights had come over a period of 2 years, 8 months and 27 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 6 months and 19 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 21 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 4.2 rounds on average.

Imavov's last 5 fights had come over a period of 2 years, 2 months and 15 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 5 months and 10 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 19 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 3.8 rounds on average.

What time did Adesanya vs Imavov start?

The fighters were expected to walk out at around 7:40 PM UTC , which was 2:40 PM EST or 11:40 AM PST on the West Coast of America, or 7:40 PM GMT in the UK.

What were the odds on Adesanya vs Imavov?

Israel Adesanya was a 61/100 (-160) favourite going into the contest, while Nassourdine Imavov made his way into the ring at 137/100 (+140) with oddsmakers.