UFC Saudi Arabia is going to feel like a pay-per-view event.
On Saturday, UFC President Dana White announced two huge middleweight fights that could easily be a part of a main card on a pay-per-view event.
In the main event of the Feb. 1 event, former UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya takes on No. 5 middleweight Nassourdine Imavov. In the co-main event, rising middleweight star and No. 14-ranked contender Shara Magomedov faces Michael Venom Page in the latter’s first UFC fight at middleweight.
Here is a look at White’s announcement.
Adesanya comes into the fight ranked No. 2. He’s at the point of his career where his losses will result in him dropping in ranking. Adesanya is coming off a loss to champion Dricus du Plessis in his last fight, and some have wondered if retirement is closing in on the MMA icon.
Imavov is on a hot streak.
He’s won three in a row, and he’s coming off a unanimous decision win over Brendan Allen in September. The main event will tell us a lot about the immediate future of the UFC’s middleweight division.
The co-main event won’t have immediate title implications, but it is a major test for Magomedov and MVP. Magomedov is coming off a historic double spinning backfist KO win, while Page lost a narrow decision to Ian Machado Garry at welterweight.
If Page wins, he could have a new division in the UFC. If Magomedov wins, he’ll be free to continue his ascent up the 185-pound ladder. We’ll see what else is added to the card, but for now, UFC Saudi Arabia has the looks of being a banger.
Robert Whittaker is Stoked For UFC 311’s Main Event
The UFC is getting off to a fast start to kick off 2025. Even before the Saudi Arabia event and UFC 312, which will feature two world championship fights, the first pay-per-view show of the year will happen in Los Angeles at the new Intuit Arena.
Islam Makhachev defends his UFC lightweight title against Arman Tsarukyan and Merab Dvalishvili will defend his UFC bantamweight title against Umar Nurmagomedov.
Former UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker shared his thoughts on the card and the UFC 311 main event.
“Well, I think that’s a banger card,” Whittaker said on his MMArcade Podcast. “And, uh, Islam versus Arman [Tsarukyan], mate, that’s… That fight is just going to answer all the questions every fan has. Period. Yep. Yep. Right. Because I’m not going to go into it too much, but everyone wants to know how good Arman is. And everyone wants to know how good Islam is. And that fight is going to tell you.”
The promotion is taking three weeks off following Saturday night’s UFC Tampa event, but once the ball starts rolling in 2025, the action should be near non-stop for the next 12 months.
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