Saturday’s UFC Fight Night card in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia is headlined by a middleweight clash between former two-time titleholder Israel Adesanya (24-4) and fifth-ranked Nassourdine Imavov (15-4, 1 NC).
Adesanya will enter the octagon on Feb. 1 coming off back-to-back losses for the first time in his career while Nassourdine will make the walk to the cage inside anb Arena riding a three-fight winning streak.
In a YouTube video, former middleweight titleholder Michael Bisping provided his analysis of the matchup and ultimately gave his prediction on the outcome.
“Israel Adesanya, the former middleweight champion of the world who has lost three out of his last four fights. That’s a far cry from when Israel Adesanya was on top of the world,” Bisping said on his YouTube channel. “Like I said, he’s lost three of his last four. Granted, there’s no shame in his losses.
“His loses are to (champion) Dricus Du Plessis where he was taken down and choked out in Round 4. The relevance of that, though, is that’s how he made a career, sprawling and brawling, stopping the takedown. If he was taken down, bouncing right back up. So the question is, is he starting to slip, or is Dricus Du Plessis just that good,” Bisping continued.
“Before that (the loss to Du Plessis) it was a loss to Sean Strickland. Maybe he underestimated Sean. He didn’t realize how good of an opponent he was. Maybe Sean Strickland got in his head. Maybe Israel was distracted … The other loss was to Alex Pereira. Certainly no shame in losing to any to them, but when you’re the best in the world, when you’re the champion, when you’re No. 1, okay, it starts to paint a picture.”
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While Adesanya has big-fight experience and a champion’s mentality, the fight with Imavov could be a difficult match up for ‘The Last Stylebender.’
“Imavov, this guy is big for the middleweight division. He’s on a tear. The only person to beat him recently is Sean Strickland,” Bisping said. “He can strike. He can wrestle. He can do it all. He fights out of Dagestan, of course. But the man is dangerous on the feet. But the way that he blends them up, the way that he level changes after landing a couple of shots, shooting in and getting the takedown, he’s very effective at it.”
“If Dricus Du Plessis was able to do that, whereas in the past people couldn’t do that, then that’s going to be a little bit troubling if you’re putting money on Israel Adesanya.”
Michael Bisping predicts Israel Adesanya ‘will be the winner’
All things considered, Bisping believes the former two-time champion will emerge victorious against Imavov in Saudi Arabia.
“I think Izzy is going to comeback. He said the middleweight division is boring without him. He said he’s here to insert some entertainment and make the middleweight division great again. He’s going full MAGA on the middleweights,” Bisping said.
“Will he beat Nassourdine Imavov? I will say this, more than likely. More than likely Israel Adesanya gets gets a decision,” Bisping continued. “I think he uses the jab. I think he lowers his base. And I think he’s a little bit pissed off and a little bit embarrassed … Your pride takes a hit when you’ve lost three out of your last four and you see the middleweight division moving along without you. That’s the part that really hurts.”
“Over five rounds, I do believe Izzy wins by decision. I think he maintains range, keeps his distance, moves around, uses all of the space inside the octagon. In Saudi Arabia, Israel Adesanya will be the winner.”
