UFC Saudi Arabia: Adesanya vs. Imavov live results, start time and play-by-play for every fight

Israel Adesanya returns against Nassourdine Imavov in the main event of UFC Saudi Arabia. (Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)

Uncrowned has UFC Saudi Arabia live results, highlights and play-by-play for the Israel Adesanya vs. Nassourdine Imavov fight card on Saturday at Anb Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. In the main event, former two-time UFC champion title Adesanya faces off against rising contender Imavov in a five-round middleweight showdown.

Adesanya (24-4) fights in a non-title bout for the first time since 2019, snapping a string of 12 consecutive championship bouts that stretched across his two different reigns. “The Last Stylebender” is already one of the most decorated middleweights to ever compete, but after hitting the first losing streak of his MMA career, it’s now or never for the 35-year-old if he wants to make a third run at gold.

“Without the belt being on the line, there’s an element of freedom that I haven’t felt in a while,” Adesanya told Uncrowned ahead of UFC Saudi Arabia. “I’m anticipating what [that freedom] is going to feel like in the Octagon.”

Standing across from the former champ is Imavov (15-4, 1 NC), who steps into the biggest spotlight of his career with a chance to propel himself straight into title contention.

A 29-year-old native of Dagestan who relocated to France in his youth, Imavov carved out a path to Saturday’s contender bout with a perfect 2024 campaign that featured a trio of consecutive victories over Roman Dolidze, Jared Cannonier and Brendan Allen. In total, Imavov has won seven of his 10 UFC appearances and has long been considered a dark horse for the title at 185 pounds.

Knockout artists Michael Page and Shara Magomedov collide in the middleweight co-headliner.

UFC Saudi Arabia starts at 9 a.m. ET on ESPN+, with a main card that kicks off at 12 p.m. ET.

Follow along all Saturday as Uncrowned brings you live results and highlights below, as well as a live blog of the entire card culminating with Adesanya vs. Imavov.