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It was an afternoon of surprises in Riyadh. In the second event in the history of the UFC in Saudi Arabia, Nassourdine Imavov (16-4) sentenced Israel Adesanya (24-5) to his fifth defeat since 2021... and four in his last five fights. He knocked him out in the second round. In addition, Shara Magomedov (15-1) lost his unbeaten record to a 'Venom' Page (23-3) who was clearly dominant in the striking.The 'Adesanya era' comes to an end. The former great fighter of the last decade began to see his decline with the arrival of Alex Pereira... and now it is confirmed after his third consecutive defeat. After Strickland and Du Plessis, it is Imavov who finishes him off. He did it in the second round with a great combination that sent the Nigerian to the ground. The Dagestani-born Frenchman continues to grow in the middleweight division, and is waiting for a title shot that will be contested at UFC 312 in a week's time.
There was also a surprise in the co-main event: Englishman Michael 'Venom' Page took the unbeaten record from Magomedov, who did not look too good, either in the exchange of blows or in the strategy to choose. MVP dominated the striking and won by decision. Precise and accurate punches against a Shara 'Bullet' who could not perform in front of the visit of Cristiano Ronaldo, present next to the cage with Dana White and Turki Al-Sheikh.
The bonuses of the night went to Grad and Imavov himself. The Fight of the Night went to Oliveira vs. Nurmagomedov. The Brazilian finished the Dagestani on points after coming back in R1. Said Nurmagomedov, by the way, is not related to Khabib, Usman or Umar.
The UFC 312 Fight Week is now underway. That is, the week of Aleksandre Topuria's UFC debut. It will be in Sydney on February 9.