5 takeaways from UFC Fight Night: Israel Adesanya vs. Nassourdine Imavov

The UFC visited Saudi Arabia for the second time this weekend for a Fight Night event. The event featured some big stars and some big fights.

In the end, UFC Fight Night: Israel Adesanya vs. Nassourdine Imavov delivered some highlight reel moments, but also some forgettable ones, too.

With a couple of fighters picking up huge wins, though, the event definitely threw up a number of talking points.

Here are five takeaways from UFC Fight Night: Israel Adesanya vs. Nassourdine Imavov.

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#5. Vinicius Oliveira showed why he's a top-level prospect

One of last night's most intriguing bouts pitted bantamweight prospect Vinicius Oliveira against dangerous grappler Said Nurmagomedov.

In the end, 'LokDog' proved why he's so highly touted by dragging Nurmagomedov into deep water and basically drowning him.

The Brazilian didn't get a finish, but he clearly won the fight, and by the end, Nurmagomedov looked utterly exhausted. Was this a case of the Dagestani having poor cardio? Arguably not, as it felt like Oliveira simply pushed him harder than he could take.

What is the ceiling for Oliveira, then? Given that Nurmagomedov had only ever lost twice in the UFC prior to this, both times to high-level fighters, 'LokDog' can probably be considered a potential contender.

At 3-0 in the octagon, then, it's probably fair to say that the Brazilian needs another step up against a top 15-ranked foe next time out.

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#4. Sergei Pavlovich may have lost his mojo for good

It's rare that a fighter wins in the octagon and yet doesn't gain a lot, but it felt like that's what happened to Sergei Pavlovich last night.

The big Russian snapped his two-fight losing streak by defeating Jairzinho Rozenstruik, and will remain ranked in the UFC's top five in the heavyweight division going forward.

However, his bout with 'Bigi Boy' was incredibly tepid, a huge surprise given the reputation held by both men as knockout artists.

Essentially, Pavlovich won the fight by merit of landing a couple of takedowns and keeping Rozenstruik under control, but he certainly didn't come close to a finish.

So what has happened to the Pavlovich who was the heavyweight division's most feared fighter, a man with bricks for fists who knocked out the likes of Derrick Lewis and Tai Tuivasa?

It feels like that version of the Russian vanished the minute he was knocked out by Tom Aspinall in November 2023. Whether he can ever regain his mojo, or whether his best days are behind him, remains to be seen. Unfortunately, smart money might be on the latter being the case.

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#3. Was Page vs. Magomedov one of the most disappointing fights in recent UFC history?

When the UFC announced that flashy welterweight striker Michael 'Venom' Page would be moving up to 185 pounds to face the unbeaten Shara Magomedov at last night's event, it was hard not to get excited.

After all, 'MVP' had traditionally produced his best showings as a counter striker, and he'd be faced with a fighter in 'Shara Bullet' known for his wild aggressiveness.

Unfortunately, it's arguable that the fight ended up being one of the most disappointing in recent memory.

It's hard to pick faults with the gameplan of Page. He simply played things smart, picking Magomedov off from the outside, but never really opening up with any true aggression.

'Shara Bullet', on the other hand, found himself slightly exposed. He simply couldn't land a big shot to 'MVP' and was equally unable to change his gameplan up to find any success.

The combination made for a much slower affair than many had hoped for, with 'Shara Bullet' simply unable to trigger the brawl that would've both favored him and thrilled the fans.

In the end, while Page picked up the win, we didn't really learn that much about him. Magomedov, on the other hand, clearly needs a hell of a lot of work on his overall game if he still wants to reach the top.

He could easily make a career out of being a flashy brawler, of course, but last night made it painfully clear that if he has designs on the middleweight title, he has to evolve.

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#2. Did Israel Adesanya's bravado get the better of him?

The most memorable moment at last night's show clearly came in the headline bout. Former middleweight champ Israel Adesanya was stunningly knocked out by Nassourdine Imavov early in the second round, leaving him on a three-fight losing streak.

With the loss, 'The Last Stylebender' now sits at a crossroads. His UFC title hopes have been left in tatters, and as he's now 35 years old, there will probably be plenty of calls for him to retire.

However, it's arguable that his loss last night was actually self-inflicted more than anything else. Essentially, Adesanya's own bravado appeared to get the better of him.

After probably edging the first round, the early part of the second saw him suffer an eye poke.

Rather than demand a proper time out, though, 'The Last Stylebender' decided to tell referee Marc Goddard that he could continue. It turned out to be a huge error.

Clearly rattled, Adesanya switched stances - and never saw the huge right hand that knocked him out coming literally seconds later.

Had 'The Last Stylebender' taken a few minutes to regroup following the poke, who knows what could've happened? The truth is, of course, that we'll never know.

Either way, Adesanya will need to go back to the drawing board - if he does decide to continue - and it's safe to say that he probably won't make an error like this again.

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#1. Nassourdine Imavov's performance made a mockery of the next UFC middleweight title fight

Despite the feeling that Israel Adesanya's decision to continue after an eye poke contributed to the result, it's safe to say that Nassourdine Imavov's win over 'The Last Stylebender' was huge.

'The Sniper' came into the fight on a three fight win streak and had beaten both Brendan Allen and Jared Cannonier. However, nothing he did in those fights really suggested that he'd be capable of dispatching Adesanya like this.

Realistically, a win like this - over a former champion and all-time great - should be enough to net Imavov a title shot.

However, the UFC's decision to grant Sean Strickland, and not Khamzat Chimaev, the next shot at current champ Dricus du Plessis, has almost created a bottleneck in the division.

Realistically, Strickland's tepid win over Paulo Costa shouldn't have been enough to give him the shot, and next weekend's title fight at UFC 312 ought to see du Plessis facing Chimaev.

Instead, though, it's likely that Imavov's awesome win over Adesanya will land him in a lethal top contender's clash with 'Borz', which almost feels unfair to both men.

In many ways, then, Imavov's win over 'The Last Stylebender' made a mockery of the UFC's title bout next weekend, something that probably wasn't the plan going into last night's event.