Isreal Adesanya suffers second round defeat to France’s Nassroudine Imavov

France’s Nassroudine Imavov defeated Israel Adesanya via technical knockout in the second round of their UFC middleweight bout. 

The 28-year-old French fighter shocked his Nigerian-New Zealander opponent in their non-title bout held on Saturday at the ANB Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

The defeat was Adesanya’s third consecutive loss in the UFC, following losses to Sean Strickland in 2023 and South Africa’s Dricus du Plessis in August 2024. It was also the 35-year-old’s fifth in the UFC.

Adesanya’s camp claimed the fighter was more prepared for the contest against Imavov than he had been for the previous two fights.

Adesanya certainly appeared sharper and more focused for the first round with little of his signature showmanship. He responded well to takedown attempts shot his way by his French opponent with impressive counters.

Although there was a period of panic towards the end of the round when Imavov shovelled an uppercut that rocked Adesanya’s head, the Nigerian-New Zealander responded immediately with a deft right hook as the buzzer went.

In the second round, Adesanya looked to be in control of the bout, keeping the pressure from the young French at bay, when hell broke loose.

Imavov threw a jab as a decoy, and Adesanya bought it and was exposed. The French followed with a big overhand right that landed on Adesanya’s jaw and sent him sprawling onto the canvas.

Imavov followed up with a flurry of jabs on a prone Adesanya, forcing the referee to call the fight.