Israel Adesanya’s journey in the UFC has been marked by triumph and adversity. Now, he will look to get back on track when he fights Nassourdine Imavov in the main event of the second UFC Fight Night in Saudi Arabia. The bout is scheduled for Feb. 1 in Riyadh.
After dropping his first pro-MMA loss at UFC 259 against Jan Błachowicz in an attempt to claim the light heavyweight title, he rebounded by successfully defending his middleweight belt against Marvin Vettori, Robert Whittaker, and Jared Cannonier.
However, he was dethroned by Alex Pereira at UFC 281, only to win it back thanks to a knockout victory over Pereira at UFC 287. He would suffer a decision loss to Sean Strickland at UFC 293 and then a submission defeat to Dricus Du Plessis last August in his bid to reclaim the middleweight crown.
“Just because there’s not a belt on the line, I don’t want to diminish this fight like it’s not important,” Adesanya said during Wednesday’s media day. “This is still an important fight for me. Again, I’m saying I’m doing this for myself. I’m kind of being selfish.
“Like, I fight for myself, I fight for my team, my family, and my real fans, but this one I’m putting myself first. I’m trying to do this one for myself, so it’s really important to me.”
