Israel Adesanya is preparing for his next challenge as he faces Nassourdine Imavov in the main event of the second UFC Fight Night in Saudi Arabia. The bout is scheduled for Feb. 1 at the anb Arena in Riyadh.
Adesanya’s journey in the UFC has been marked by both triumph and adversity. His first professional loss came at UFC 259 against Jan Błachowicz in an ambitious attempt to claim the light heavyweight title. Despite the setback, he rebounded by successfully defending his middleweight belt against Marvin Vettori, Robert Whittaker, and Jared Cannonier.
However, his reign faltered at UFC 281 when Alex Pereira dethroned him. Adesanya later regained the title in spectacular fashion with a knockout victory over Pereira at UFC 287. More recently, his momentum stalled again, first with a decision loss to Sean Strickland at UFC 293 and then with a submission defeat to Dricus Du Plessis last August in his bid to reclaim the middleweight crown.
Ahead of this crucial fight, Robert Whittaker, a former champion and two-time opponent of Adesanya’s, has been working with the Nigerian-New Zealander to prepare. On his MMArcade Podcast, Whittaker offered insight into his former rival’s next matchup and Imavov’s strategy.
“Imavov’s grappling is very good,” Whittaker explained. “He gets the back of just about every opponent he fights. That’s kind of where the fight wins for him. He doesn’t beat Izzy in a five-round striking contest. He takes him down, tries to get his back, and then it’s about whether Izzy defends that position and escapes. Obviously, Adesanya’s game plan will focus on not giving up his back at all costs.
“Granted, it’s such a clear-cut direction for Imavov to try to achieve,” Whittaker continued. “Just about every fight he’s had, he gets the back, locks in that body triangle, and works from there. I think that’s the fight we’re going to see: Adesanya trying to keep his distance and outstrike him, while Imavov looks to close the distance, push him up against the fence, take him down, and get his back.”
This highly anticipated bout will test Adesanya’s resilience and ability to adapt as he looks to regain momentum against a dangerous grappler in Imavov.
