Adesanya Vs. Imavov Predictions – ‘He Has A Chip On His Shoulder’
Israel Adesanya takes on Nassourdine Imavov at UFC Saudi Arabia as MMA pros gave their predictions.
The bout is on February 1 from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Adesanya has plenty to prove coming into this fight. He suffered two back-to-back defeats for the first time. He came out second best to Sean Strickland at UFC 293. The defeat lost him his UFC Middleweight Title. He took some time out before deciding what he should do next. He grabbed himself a title shot immediately by taking on Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 305. But that did not go to plan as he suffered a shock defeat via a fourth-round submission. Daniel Cormier has questioned whether Izzy will be the same, knowing no title is on the line.
“I never in my life fought a five-round main event that wasn’t for a championship, and I’ve got to be honest: I don’t think that I could. I don’t think I could have went 25 minutes without knowing that there was a shiny gold belt waiting on the end of that because it’s hard to pull that dog out of you whenever you don’t get that thing that means so much when the night’s over,” Cormier said
Imavov is in very good form. He has secured three wins in a row. He enters the fight with a victory against Brendan Allen at UFC Paris. That followed after wins over Jared Cannonier and Roman Dolidze. Imavov is seventh in the middleweight rankings, as the win takes him another step towards a title shot. Here is what MMA fighters had to say.
Predictions
“I’m going with Adesanya, it will be a good fight. This fight will put him back in title contention. I think he wins a decision, Imavov is tough to finish,” Diego Ferreira (UFC lightweight).
“Israel Adesanya. He’s faced better people, Imavov was struggling with Brendan Allen. I think the five rounds favor Izzy and he gets it done,” Terrance McKinney (UFC lightweight).
“I think Adesanya by decision. His striking is too good for Imavov, and I think he will be too technical for him,” Jairzinho Rozenstruik (UFC heavyweight).
“I’m going with Adesanya. I think he’s rejuvenated and re-energized and will be too slick on the feet for Imavov,” Modestas Bukauskas (UFC light heavyweight).
“I’m leaning toward Imavov, honestly. I think Adesanya has lost a step and I think Imavov is ready to prove he’s the guy,” Vince Morales (UFC bantamweight).
“I’m going with Israel Adesanya. Imavov is showing out, but I think the five rounds help Izzy,” Steve Garcia (UFC featherweight).
“I think it will be a tough, close fight. But, I think Adesanya, I think he has a chip on his shoulder,” Kody Steele (UFC lightweight).
Full Card
Israel Adesanya vs. Nassourdine Imavov
Shara Magomedov vs. Michael Page
Said Nurmagomedov vs. Vinicius Oliveira
Muhammadjon Naimov vs. Kaan Ofli
Terrance McKinney vs. Damir Hadzovic
Bodgan Grad vs. Lucas Alexander
Hamdy Abdelwahab vs. Jamal Pogues
Shamil Gaziev vs. Thomas Petersen
Jordan Leavitt vs. Abdul-Kareem Al-Selwady
Sergei Pavlovich vs. Jairzinho Rozensruik
Ikram Aliskerov vs. Andre Muniz
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