Israel Adesanya speaks to the Herald ahead of his bout against Nassourdine Imavov in Riyadh on February 2. Video / Michael Craig
Israel Adesanya was dragged into deep waters in his first UFC title fight.
Taking on American Kelvin Gastelum in Atlanta in 2019 for the interim middleweight championship, the two were all square on the scorecards as the fifth and final round approached.
Before the round started, cameras caught Adesanya as he said: “You can’t beat me. I’m prepared to die.”
It’s a clip that went viral, particularly after he bounced back from being rocked in the fourth round and overwhelmed Gastelum in the final round to claim the belt.
It was a fight that began a run of 12-straight championship bouts for the Nigerian-Kiwi, which saw him cement his legacy as one of the best the sport has ever seen.
Now, as the 35-year-old prepares for his first non-title fight in six years, it’s that bout against Gastelum that his French opponent Nassourdine Imavov has challenged Adesanya to channel when they meet in Saudi Arabia on Sunday morning.
“I would like the same [mentality] ... ready to die. I would like to beat this Israel Adesanya,” Imavov told the Herald through a translator.
“That’s what I’m expecting inside the octagon and I’m going to prove that I’m better than the best Adesanya.”
Adesanya will be looking to protect his position at No 2 in the middleweight rankings against Imavov, who comes into the bout at No 5 off the back of three wins in as many bouts in 2024.
Since joining the UFC in 2020, Imavov has a 7-2 record with one no-contest. He has found his footing under the bright lights, with his last loss coming against former middleweight champion Sean Strickland – who will fight Dricus du Plessis for the belt in Sydney on February 9.
Of his three-fight winning streak last year, all of his opponents were ranked in the top 10 of the division – with decision wins over Roman Dolidze and Brendan Allen, and a fourth-round TKO win over former Adesanya rival Jared Cannonier.
This weekend's bout against Nassourdine Imavov in Saudi Arabia will be Israel Adesanya's first non-title fight since his clash with UFC legend Anderson Silva in February 2019. Photo / Photosport
Imavov told the Herald he’d had indications that if he beats Adesanya on Sunday a title fight could follow.
“I was expecting a great fight because I had three victories in 2024. I was expecting a big fight, but the fact that it was a title eliminator was very determinate in why I liked this fight a lot,” he said.
“I always wanted to work more than I was talking. Now we’re going to keep working, but we’re going to prove and make the noise inside the cage, like we did last year, with Israel Adesanya. That’s the goal.”
While Imavov comes in riding his equal-longest winning streak in the UFC, Adesanya enters the bout after losing back-to-back fights for the first time in his 28-bout professional MMA career – dropping title fights against Strickland and du Plessis.
However, in his return to the octagon against du Plessis after almost a year away following the Strickland loss, Adesanya looked good before he was ultimately submitted in the fourth round.
Ahead of their meeting in Riyadh, Imavov said he took plenty away from watching that performance.
“I think he’s still very good. If you look at his last fight with Dricus, he had some very good moments in this fight – except for the final submission,” he said.
