Tom Taylor@@TomTayMMA
Contributor IFebruary 1, 2025
- Opponents Israel Adesanya and Nassourdine ImavovChris Unger/Zuffa LLC
- The UFC is back in Saudi Arabia Saturday, with an exciting 11-fight card that lands in the morning for fans in North America thanks to international time zones.
- Headlining honors for the card will go to a clash of middleweight contenders, as former champ Israel Adesanya looks to rebound from back-to-back losses to Dricus Du Plessis and Sean Strickland opposite the dangerous Nassourdine Imavov.
- The co-main event will also be contended at middleweight, as former Bellator welterweight champ Michael “Venom” Page hikes up a division to fight fellow striking whiz Shara “Bullet” Magomedov.
- Before we get to the middleweight fights, we’ll be treated to a clash of heavyweight knockout artists, as Sergei Pavlovich takes on Jairzinho Rozenstruik. The remainder of the card, meanwhile, is packed with talent from around the Middle East, Russia, and even farther afield.
- Keep it locked here for full results of the card, and a tally of the real winners and losers of the day.
- Opponents Shara Magomedov (left) and Michael Page face off Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC
- Main Card | 12 p.m. ET on ESPN+
- Israel Adesanya vs. Nassourdine Imavov
- Shara Magomedov vs. Michael Page
- Sergei Pavlovich vs. Jairzinho Rozenstruik
- Said Nurmagomedov vs. Vinicius Oliveira
- Fares Ziam vs. Mike Davis
- Prelims | 9:00 a.m. ET on ESPN+
- Muhammad Naimov vs. Kaan Ofli
- Shamil Gaziev vs. Thomas Petersen
- Terrance McKinney def. Damir Hadzovic via first-round TKO (2:01)
- Jasmine Jasudavicius def. Mayra Bueno Silva via unanimous decision (30-27 x3)
- Bogdan Grad def. Lucas Alexander via TKO at 4:22 of round two
- Hamdy Abdelwahab def. Jamal Pogues via split decision (27-30, 29-28 x2)
- Hamdy Abdelwahab punches Jamal PoguesChris Unger/Zuffa LLC
- Did you know Paul Felder enjoys paprika? If you tuned in for the opening bout of the UFC Fight Night 250 broadcast, now you do.
- The first fight of the night was contested at heavyweight, were unranked prospects Hamdy Abdelwahab and Jamal Pogues collided in hopes of taking a step up the ladder. It was an undeniably tedious watch, to the point that Felder and his fellow commentators Laura Sanko and John Gooden had so little to talk about that they began discussing spices in the second round. Garlic also got a mention. This isn’t a criticism. There were points in the fight where neither guy did much of anything for the better part of a minute. Digressions about things like spices were pretty much unavoidable.
- Unfortunately, this is par for the course when it comes to unranked heavyweights. While the division sometimes delivers unforgettable knockouts, it also gives us some truly forgettable fights — and this was one of them.
- At least Abdelwahab seemed to know it.
- After winning a dubious split decision, the Egyptian told Felder he was “so nervous” heading into the fight, which was his first in about two years.
- “I’ve had better performances,” he said, before promising his next fight will be better.
- The Egyptian seems like a really nice guy, and at 32, still has plenty of upside despite his performance in Saudi Arabia, so we believe him. Onto the next one.
- Jasmine Jasudavicius punches Mayra Bueno SilvaChris Unger/Zuffa LLC
- Canada has quite a legacy in MMA, as the country that gave us Georges St-Pierre, who might just be the best fighter of all time. Unfortunately, Canada has not been much of player in the sport over the last few years. We’ve seen a few solid fighters come out of the country, but overall, things have been pretty quiet.
- They may finally be changing. While it’s unlikely Canada will ever have another Georges St-Pierre, there is at least a Canadian fighter in the official UFC rankings. That would be Jasmine Jasudavicius, who was ranked No. 12 at flyweight heading into her Saturday scrap with former bantamweight title challenger Mayra Bueno Silva.
- Jasudavicius ultimately came through as a moderate betting favorite in the fight, dominating the former title challenger for three rounds — and leaving a nasty lump on her head. It was her fourth win in a row after defeats of Ariane Lipski, Fatima Kline, and Priscilla Cachoeira. She’s still got some work to do before she earns a title shot — and it’s admittedly hard to believe her challenging even an aging version of champ Valentina Shevchenko — but she can probably expect a top-10 opponent next time out.
- Not even Canadian welterweight Mike Malott could make it that far, having come up short to Neil Magny last year.
