Nassourdine Imavov announced his arrival among the elite middleweight challengers by knocking out a future UFC Hall of Famer on Saturday. Imavov entered the Octagon as a slight underdog against two-time former middleweight champion Israel Adesanya but had to be pulled off the legend just 30 seconds into the second round.
Adesanya entered the fight coming off of back-to-back losses and three losses in his four most recent fights. Despite that rough patch, the former champ fought well through the first round, fending off multiple takedown attempts while drilling Imavov with leg kicks and hard jabs.
The early frustrations didn’t seem to bother Imavov as he pushed forward from the start of the second round before landing a heavy overhand right that sent Adesanya spilling to the canvas. Imavov didn’t give Adesanya time to recover, following up with punches against the cage and on the ground until the referee was forced to jump in to halt the action at the 0:30 mark of the round.
“I feel so good,” Imavov said after the fight. “I said it all week long, I was in perfect shape. I proved it tonight. I proved I’m the better striker. Now the goal for me is to fight for the belt.”
That UFC middleweight belt will be up for grabs next Saturday when Dricus du Plessis puts it on the line against the man he defeated to become champion, Sean Strickland.
Imavov’s message to those two men was simple.
“I think there is no doubt that I’m worth the belt,” Imavov said. “Four victories in one year, the record speaks for itself.”
Imavov’s most recent defeat came to Strickland, in a fight that came together on short notice and at light heavyweight. He has now won four consecutive fights dating back to Feb. 4, 2024.
For Adesanya, the path is far less clear. After spending years as the king of the 185-pound division, he has lost three straight and four of five, with three of those losses coming by stoppage.
CBS Sports was with you the entire way on Saturday bringing you all the results and highlights from the event below.
UFC Fight Night card, results
- Nassourdine Imavov def. Israel Adesanya via second-round knockout (punches)
- Michael “Venom” Page def. Sharabutdin Magomedov via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
- Sergei Pavlovich def. Jairzinho Rozenstruik via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Vinicius Oliveira def. Said Nurmagomedov via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Fares Ziam def. Mike Davis via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
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