The UFC is headed back to Saudi Arabia on February 1. It seems Dana White and Turki Alalshikh have been able to find common ground on the kind of card suitable for Riyadh Season as this event will kick off their relations in 2025.
The main event will feature former UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya taking on Nassourdine Imavov. Adesanya is ranked No. 3, and Imavov is No. 4.
The winner will likely be one victory away from challenging for the title. Dricus du Plessis will defend the title against Sean Strickland in a rematch at UFC 312 in Australia later in February.
Adesanya is on the first two-fight losing streak of his career. He lost the middleweight title to Strickland in a listless performance in September 2023 and was stopped by du Plessis in August.
A third-straight loss would put the future Hall-of-Famer in a tough situation.
Imavov is on the rise. He’s won four in a row. Most recently, he scored a unanimous decision win over Brendan Allen in September. While his style isn’t considered the most crowd-pleasing, he’s a proven winner looking to break into the next level.
The co-main event could be a striker’s dream. Shara Magomedov faces Michael “Venom” Page. Those of us familiar with these kinds of matchups know we could see something spectacular or a super-tactical, low-action fight that bores the casuals.
In any case, it’s a fight that looks great on paper. Including the main event, the card will feature a former champion and nine fighters ranked in one of the UFC’s divisions.
Per ESPN, here is a look at the bout order:
- (3) Israel Adesanya vs. (4) Nassourdine Imavov – Middleweight
- (14) Shara Magomedov vs. (15 at WW) Michael Page – Middleweight
- Ikram Aliskerov vs. André Muniz – Middleweight
- (4) Sergei Pavlovich vs. (9) Jairzinho Rozenstruik – Heavyweight
- Muhammadjon Naimov vs. Kaan Ofli – Featherweight
- Said Nurmagomedov vs. Vinicius Oliveira – Bantamweight
- Hamdy Abdelwahab vs. Jamal Pogues – Heavyweight
- Fares Ziam vs. Mike Davis – Lightweight
- (12) Jasmine Jasudavicius vs. (6 at WBW) Mayra Bueno Silva – Flyweight
- (14) Shamil Gaziev vs. Thomas Petersen – Heavyweight
- Bogdan Grad vs. Lucas Alexander – Featherweight
- Terrance McKinney vs. Damir Hadžović – Lightweight
- Abdul-Kareem Al-Selwady vs. Jordan Leavitt – Lightweight
Before UFC Saudi Arabia rolls around, the No. 1 MMA promotion in the world heads back to its home base for UFC Vegas 101 at The Apex.
Most fans hate the Apex, but after three weeks without an event, it’ll be welcomed back with open arms for at least one weekend.
A strawweight rematch between Mackenzie Dern and Amanda Ribas is installed as the main event. The two women met in 2019, with Ribas earning the unanimous decision win.
Since then, Dern has surpassed her in the rankings at No. 6, while Ribas is No. 9.
Here is a look at the entire card that will welcome the UFC back into our weekly rotation in 2025:
- Mackenzie Dern vs. Amanda Ribas – Strawweight
- Santiago Ponzinibbio vs. Carlston Harris – Welterweight
- Abdul Razak Alhassan vs. César Almeida – Middleweight
- Chris Curtis vs. Roman Kopylov – Middleweight
- Austin Bashi vs. Christian Rodriguez – Featherweight
- Punahele Soriano vs. Uroš Medić – Welterweight
- Jose Johnson vs. Felipe Bunes – Flyweight
- Marco Túlio vs. Ihor Potieria – Middleweight
- Thiago Moisés vs. Trey Ogden – Lightweight
- Andreas Gustafsson vs. Preston Parsons – Welterweight
- Ernesta Kareckaite vs. Nicolle Caliari – Flyweight
- Magomed Gadzhiyasulov vs. Bruno Lopes – Light Heavyweight
- Viktoriia Dudakova vs. Fatima Kline – Strawweight
- Nurullo Aliev vs. Yanal Ashmouz – Lightweight
