Israel Adesanya next fight: Shara Magomedov in UFC Saudi Arabia main event

The former two-time middleweight champion headlines in Riyadh on 5 December, with Ian Machado Garry against former Bellator champion Yaroslav Amosov also scheduled for five rounds as the co-main event.

Israel Adesanya will try to end a four-fight losing run against Shara Magomedov when the pair headline UFC Saudi Arabia at the ANB Arena in Riyadh on 5 December. The UFC announced the bout during Saturday's UFC Vegas 124 event.

The main event and co-main event are both scheduled for five rounds. In the co-main event, Ian Machado Garry fights for the first time since his welterweight title defeat to Islam Makhachev at UFC 330 in August. His opponent is Yaroslav Amosov, a former Bellator champion.

Adesanya has not won since losing the middleweight title to Sean Strickland at UFC 293 in September 2023. He has been stopped in all three fights since, by Dricus du Plessis, Nassourdine Imavov and Joe Pyfer, so none of those defeats went to the judges.

Magomedov is 6-1 in the UFC and comes in on back-to-back wins over Michel Pereira and Marc-Andre Barriault. His only defeat in the promotion was a decision loss to Michael Page at UFC Saudi Arabia in February 2025.

The rest of the main card features a heavyweight bout between Serghei Spivac and Mario Pinto, and a welterweight contest between Levan Chokheli and Islam Dulatov. Mairon Santos meets Akbar Abdullaev at lightweight, and Ion Cutelaba faces Magomed Tuchalov at 205lb.

READ NEXTIsrael Adesanya, four losses in a row, faces 17-1 Shara Magomedov at UFC Saudi ArabiaRead the next story →

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