By Victor Kanayo
Nigerian-born fighter Israel Adesanya, popularly known as Stylebender, is now scheduled for a fight on February 1, 2025, in Saudi Arabia.
This was confirmed by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).
According to the UFC, the Nigerian Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) legend Adesanya will face Nassourdine Imavov.
UFC CEO Dana White announced the matchup after it was first reported by Knockout Alerts.
This will be Adesanya’s first non-title bout since February 2019 and his first appearance in the less-fancied Fight Night series.
Adesanya, 35, aims to snap the first multi-loss skid of his MMA career.
After his upset unanimous decision loss to Sean Strickland in September 2023, he challenged rival Dricus Du Plessis for gold in August but was submitted in Round 4.
Imavov, 28, has slowly but surely climbed the middleweight ladder since his debut in October 2020.
He rides a three-fight winning streak into the most high-profile fight of his career.
