Off the again of his spectacular win tonight, Nassourdine Imavov has staked his declare for a shot on the middleweight title following a decisive second spherical knockout win over former two-time champion, Israel Adesanya in the primary occasion of UFC Saudi Arabia.
Imavov, who entered tonight’s potential title eliminator conflict towards Metropolis Kickboxing star, Adesanya as the present quantity 5 ranked contender, prolonged his spectacular profitable run to 4 fights on the trot.
And delivering probably the most spectacular victory of his Octagon tenure up to now, Russian-French challenger, Imavov made comparatively quick work of former two-time gold holder, Adesanya contained in the opening two rounds.
Capitalizing on a stoppage within the motion following an inadvertent eye poke, Nassourdine Imavov would spring with an enormous overhand proper shot, sending a reeling Adesanya to the canvas, earlier than unloading with a slew of floor strikes for a shocking KO win in Riyadh.
Nassourdine Imavov requires title struggle after UFC Saudi Arabia win
And off the again of his success, Imavov staked his declare for a shot on the middleweight belt — presently up for grabs later this month at UFC 312 in Australia, with Dricus du Plessis set to rematch ex-champion, Sean Strickland in a pairing ‘Downunder.
“I ask you the question, I ask you the question, 4 top 10, 2 top 5, 2 top 10, have only 1 name, 2 finishes, I think I still deserve the belt,” Nassourdine Imavov instructed Paul Felder throughout his post-fight interview following his win at UFC Saudi Arabia. “I ask you the question again, do I deserve the belt or not? Which is, the record speaks for itself.”
Now himself within the midst of a three-fight dropping skid, previous to tonight’s title eliminator loss to Imavov through knockout, Adesanya had dropped a face crank submission loss to present champion, du Plessis, after dropping his championship to the beforehand talked about, Strickland in a one-sided shutout loss.
