Former two-time UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya is set to return to the Octagon in February.
According to ESPN's Andreas Hale, UFC announced Saturday that Adesanya will face Nassourdine Imavov in the main event of UFC Fight Night at the ANB Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Feb. 1.
The bout will mark Adesanya's first nontitle fight since 2019, breaking a string of 12 consecutive bouts with a championship on the line.
Adesanya, 35, is coming off back-to-back losses for the first time in his career, and he has dropped three of his past four outings.
In his sixth middleweight title defense, Adesanya lost to Alex Pereira by fifth-round technical knockout at UFC 281 in 2022. However, in their rematch at UFC 287 in April 2023, Adesanya won back the middleweight title.
"The Last Stylebender" lost the title once again in a unanimous-decision defeat at the hands of Sean Strickland at UFC 293 in September 2023.
Nearly one year later, Adesanya returned to face the new UFC middleweight champion in Dricus du Plessis, but du Plessis won by fourth-round submission to retain the title.
While it can be argued that a nontitle fight against Imavov represents a step down for Adesanya, it is possible that the winner could be thrust right back into the UFC middleweight title conversation.
The 29-year-old Imavov is not as experienced as the 24-4 Adesanya, posting a record of 15-4 with one no contest in 20 career bouts.
However, since losing to Strickland by unanimous decision in 2023, Imavov is undefeated. His fight against Christ Curtis was ruled a no contest due to an accidental headbutt, and he followed that up with wins over Roman Dolidze, Jared Cannonier and Brendan Allen.
Imavov has never vied for a championship, but beating Adesanya would give him the type of signature win he needs in order to he considered a contender.
At UFC 312 on Feb. 9, du Plessis will defend the UFC middleweight title against Strickland in a rematch, and given the close proximity to Adesanya vs. Imavov, it would make sense for the winners of both fights to meet in a title bout in the near future.
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