Imavov knocks out Adesanya to stake UFC title claim in Saudi Arabia
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.
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