After hosting its first ever event in Saudi Arabia last June, The UFC will return to the KSA on Saturday, February 1, at The anb Arena in Riyadh. The return features a headlining bout between former middleweight champion, Israel Adesanya (24-4) and Nassourdine Imavov (15-4), the French fighter of Dagestani origin. Tickets are now on sale and can be bought here.
Adesanya, who began his UFC career with an endless tear through the middleweight division, is now on a two fight losing streak, and is said to have made a drastic change to his training camp leading up to, what could be, a potential third loss in a row. But the name Dagestan is synonymous with elite-level wrestling, the one proven kryptonite to the former middleweight champion.
The co-main event will feature another middleweight clash between undefeated Shara Magomedov (15-0), another Dagestani fighter who recently wowed the internet with a double spinning backfist victory in Abu Dhabi last November, and Michael “Venom” Page (22-), the English kickboxing phenom.
UFC has a special connection to Riyadh Season, as the festival was the title partner for the titanic UFC 306 event held at Sphere, the revolutionary new entertainment venue in Las Vegas (Abu Dhabi just announced plans to build its own Sphere). UFC 306 at Riyadh Season raised the bar for sports and entertainment as it broke a number of records, including highest-grossing UFC event of all time. We already know what Dana White thinks of Abu Dhabi, and I’ve said it a million times before: will Riyadh become the new fight capital of the world?
Fresh off (arguably) the best year in his career, Dana White watched the g.o.a.t., Jon Jones, obliterate Stipe Miocic at Madison Square Garden late last year. Just a few days removed from watching his other surging superstar, Khamzat Chimaev, continue his undefeated streak in Abu Dhabi.
At UFC 309 in Madison Square Garden, president elect Donald Trump was spotted chatting with the head of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), Yasir Al-Rumayyan. The PIF is the sovereign wealth fund of Saudi Arabia, and is controlled by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and governed by Al-Rumayyan. According to Reuters, the PIF has an estimated worth of about $925 billion (AED 3.3 trillion). Considering the continued ascent of the fastest growing sport in the world, don’t be surprised if Saudi lands yet a third UFC event in 2025, with even more planned for 2026.