Dana White surprises and praises Israel Adesanya despite defeat

Nassourdine Imavov knocked out Israel adesanya No. UFC Saudi Arabia (Photo: Instagram/UFC)

Israel adesanya may have lost his third fight in a row, but he hasn't lost his boss's trust. The former middleweight champion (up to 83,9kg) was knocked out in a brutal way by Nassourdine Imavov in the second round of the fight held this Saturday (1st).

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Israel Adesanya reveals frustration after defeat to Nassourdine Imavov: 'disappointed'

The fight was the main event in Saudi Arabia. After the promotion, Dana White, CEO of the UFC, praised the veteran's performance. In his opinion, Adesanya put on an excellent fight, but 'got caught'.

“I thought Izzy [Adesanya] looked amazing until he got caught. He looked good. He was destroying, staying on the outside. Takedown defense was incredible, cutting off that calf kick the whole first round. He couldn’t have had a better first round – and then he got caught,” Dana said in a post-fight press conference.

“… Listen, getting caught is getting caught. He’s 35. Imavov is 28. He’s in his prime. He looked incredible. You couldn’t have fought a better first round than him. He broke [Imavov’s] face. He killed it in that first round,” the UFC boss said.

Imavov earns bonus with knockout

Nassourdine Imavov won Israel adesanya No. UFC Saudi Arabia. Photo: Instagram/UFC

Responsible for the third consecutive defeat of Israel adesanya in the octagon, Nassourdine Imavov came out of the of the UFC Saudi Arabia with full pockets. O brutal knockout over the former champion earned the Russian naturalized Frenchman one of the 'Performance of the Night' bonuses, worth US$ 50 thousand (approximately R$ 292 thousand at the current exchange rate).

Not taking away from Imavov but Marc Goddard has made a career out of early stoppages man. That's bad #UFCSaudiArabia pic.twitter.com/GsGjvXbfam

— Jay‍♂️ (@JayMMA4) February 1, 2025