Israel Adesanya is favored against Nassourdine Imavov at UFC Fight Night: Adesanya vs. Imavov on Saturday, February 1 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. This event is one of 11 fights on ESPN+. Adesanya is 24-4 in his career, including 13-4 in the UFC, while Imavov is 15-4 in his career, including 7-2 in the UFC. There are a total of 11 fights, all on ESPN+ at UFC Fight Night: Adesanya vs. Imavov. Let’s look at the bout between Adesanya and Imavov and UFC predictions.
UFC Fight Night: Adesanya vs. Imavov takes place at the anb Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Saturday, February 1 with 11 fights, all on ESPN+.
UFC Fight Night: Adesanya vs. Imavov Betting
Israel Adesanya (24-4, 13-4 UFC)
Adesanya came into the UFC with a record of 11-0 and he has 13 wins and four losses in the UFC. In his last six fights, he has three wins and three losses in the UFC. He defeated Robert Whittaker by unanimous decision, Jared Cannonier by unanimous decision, and Alex Pereira by KO; while losing to Alex Pereira by TKO, Sean Strickland by unanimous decision, and Dricus du Plessis by face crank submission. Adesanya has been a pro since 2012 and he has 16 wins by TKO/KO and eight by decision. He has seven first round finishes.
Nassourdine Imavov (15-4, 7-2 UFC)
Imavov came into the UFC with a record of 8-2 and he has seven wins and two losses in the UFC. He defeated Jordan Williams by unanimous decision, Ian Heinisch by TKO, Edmen Shahbazyan by TKO, Joaquin Buckley by unanimous decision, Roman Dolidze by majority decision, Jared Cannonier by TKO, and Brendan Allen by unanimous decision; while losing to Phil Hawes by majority decision and Sean Strickland by unanimous decision. Imavov has been a pro since 2016 and he has six wins by TKO/KO and four by submission. He has seven first round finishes.
Robert Whittaker said this to mmajunkie.usatoday.com about the upcoming fight between Adesanya and Imavov, “I’d have to lean into Izzy being the favorite. Like he’s so good at what he does, but Imavov’s a bit of a dog. He can go the distance. His striking is good. I can see him pushing the pace, pushing the pressure to try to make Adesanya make errors much like how Dricus (Du Plessis) fought him. I can’t say better standup because Dricus’ standup is just a different type of standup, a different approach. Is Imavov as tacky as Dricus? Because I think Dricus made like a really good blueprint on how to beat Adesanya, make him uncomfortable and go at him. Make him stress, don’t give him space to play. I think Imavov’s got the skillset to do that, but I’d still lean on Izzy being the favorite. He can fight that counter style so well and if you don’t fall into his baits, into his traps, he’ll pick you apart. Izzy looked so good against Dricus until he didn’t. I don’t know, I think that Izzy beats Imavov.”
Striking Stats
Strikes landed per minute: Adesanya 4.00 /Imavov 4.51
Striking Accuracy: Adesanya 48% /Imavov 55%
Strikes absorbed per minute: Adesanya 3.21/Imavov 3.20
Defense: Adesanya 56% /Imavov 58%
Grappling Stats
Takedown average: Adesanya 0.05/Imavov 0.88
Takedown Accuracy: Adesanya 12%/Imavov 36%
Takedowns defended: Adesanya 75%/Imavov 78%
Submission average: Adesanya 0.1/Imavov 1.2
UFC Picks
This should be a very competitive main event with Adesanya a small favorite in UFC betting odds. I don’t see much of an edge either way, as I think it is unlikely either of these fighters wins by submission and the striking looks fairly even. The rounds option for this fight is listed at 4.5. It is a main event fight scheduled for five rounds and there is a good chance this one goes the distance. It would obviously be an easier pick if this was just a three-round fight, but I still don’t see either of these two fighters getting the finish. I will go over the rounds total for this main event bout.
| DATE | FIGHTERS | MONEY LINE |
| 02/01 | Nassourdine Imavov | +130 |
| Israel Adesanya | -164 |
| 02/01 | Michael Page | +143 |
| Shara Magomedov | -180 |
| 02/01 | Jairzinho Rozenstruik | +241 |
| Sergei Pavlovich | -320 |
| 02/01 | Vinicius Oliveira | +127 |
| Said Nurmagomedov | -160 |
| 02/01 | Kaan Ofli | +235 |
| Muhammadjon Naimov | -311 |
| 02/01 | Thomas Petersen | +275 |
| Shamil Gaziev | -372 |
| 02/01 | Damir Hadzovic | +322 |
| Terrance McKinney | -450 |
| 02/01 | Mike Davis | -152 |
| Fares Ziam | +121 |
| 02/01 | Lucas Alexander | -122 |
| Bogdan Grad | -108 |
| 02/01 | Jamal Pogues | -115 |
| Hamdy Abdelwahab | -115 |
| 02/01 | Mayra Bueno Silva | +190 |
| Jasmine Jasudavicius | -245 |
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