Former UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya is set to face Nassourdine Imavov in the main event of UFC Saudi Arabia on Saturday in Riyadh. However, Adesanya has some fans on X worried following a post on Thursday night.
Adesanya posted:
“Am I gonna miss weight…”
One fan wrote: “Plz don’t the next card is trash we looking forward to this fight night.”
A second fan commented: “Izzy noooooooo.”
The former champion is quite the jokester, and it should be noted that two minutes later, he replied to a post from Marvel Updates that asked if Jonathan Majors deserves a second chance as Kang.
For whatever that’s worth, Adesanya doesn’t appear to be that on edge, but you never know. In case you’re wondering, Adesanya doesn’t just want to see Majors back as Kang—he also wants him to play his good friend Francis Ngannou in a biopic about the former UFC and current PFL Super Fights heavyweight champion’s life.
That film could be epic, but who’s playing Dana White? I digress.
The time for weigh-ins is drawing close. The event is set to begin on Saturday morning at 9 a.m. ET. The ceremonial weigh-ins are at 9 a.m. ET on Friday. This means Adesanya and others should be in the final stages of cutting to get down to the contracted weight.
For Adesanya and Imavov, that weight can be no more than 186 pounds. For the record, in 28 professional mixed martial arts fights, Adesanya has never missed weight. Therefore, it would be pretty surprising if he did ahead of this fight.
That said, he is 35 and turning 36 in July. As fighters age, it is normal for it to become a bit more difficult to make weight—especially for a tall middleweight like Adesanya, who stands 6’4″.
If Adesanya does miss weight, it is highly unlikely the main event will be canceled. The scrap with Imavov is a big one and very important to the card because of its implications for the 185-pound title picture and Adesanya’s star power.
Imavov, who also has never missed weight, comes into the bout on a three-fight win streak. A win over Adesanya could land him a title shot later in the year, though he is behind Khamzat Chimaev, who’ll get the winner of the UFC 312 main event between Dricus Du Plessis and Sean Strickland.
He’ll likely want Adesanya on weight for the fight. We’ll know shortly what’s happening with every fighter on the card. In case you missed it, here is the lineup of fights set for UFC Saudi Arabia at the ANB Arena in Riyadh.
Updated UFC Saudi Arabia Fight Card:
- Israel Adesanya vs. Nassourdine Imavov – Middleweight (185 lbs)
- Sharabutdin Magomedov vs. Michael Page – Middleweight (185 lbs)
- Sergei Pavlovich vs. Jairzinho Rozenstruik – Heavyweight (265 lbs)
- Said Nurmagomedov vs. Vinicius Oliveira – Bantamweight (135 lbs)
- Ikram Aliskerov vs. André Muniz – Middleweight (185 lbs) – CANCELED
- Muhammad Naimov vs. Kaan Ofli – Featherweight (145 lbs)
- Shamil Gaziev vs. Thomas Petersen – Heavyweight (265 lbs)
- Terrance McKinney vs. Damir Hadžović – Lightweight (155 lbs)
- Fares Ziam vs. Mike Davis – Lightweight (155 lbs)
- Jasmine Jasudavicius vs. Mayra Bueno Silva – Flyweight (125 lbs)
- Bogdan Grad vs. Lucas Alexander – Featherweight (145 lbs)
- Hamdy Abdelwahab vs. Jamal Pogues – Heavyweight (265 lbs)
- Abdul-Kareem Al-Selwady vs. Bolaji Oki – Lightweight (155 lbs) – CANCELED
Stay tuned for more fight week coverage, culminating with post-event content on Saturday afternoon.
