Israel Adesanya, four losses in a row, faces 17-1 Shara Magomedov at UFC Saudi Arabia

The UFC made it official in the early hours of Sunday after weeks of rumours. Dana White would not confirm it at UFC 333, but said: "It's coming, it's happening."

Israel Adesanya will face Shara Magomedov in the main event of UFC Saudi Arabia in Riyadh on Saturday 5 December. The UFC announced the middleweight fight on X in the early hours of Sunday, UK time: "@StyleBender vs @Shara_Bullet77 headlines #UFCSaudiArabia!"

The matchup had been rumoured for weeks. At the UFC 333 post-fight press conference, a reporter told Dana White "the rumors is it's Izzy versus Shara Bullet". White gave no details and did not confirm the fight. "It's coming, it's happening," he said.

Adesanya, 37, is ranked No 9 at middleweight by the UFC and has lost four fights in a row. He has not won since he knocked out Alex Pereira to win back the UFC middleweight title. He lost the belt to Sean Strickland in his first defence, then was finished in each of his next three fights, by Dricus du Plessis, Nassourdine Imavov and Joe Pyfer. He left City Kickboxing in July and said in a training camp vlog that "this is the best I've felt in a very long time".

Magomedov, 32, is 17-1 and ranked No 15. He beat Michel Pereira on a decision in June, and 12 of his wins have come by knockout. It is his first UFC main event.

Adesanya is the taller man at 6ft 4in, with an 80-inch reach to Magomedov's 73 inches. Magomedov is 6ft 2in.

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