Well, it's definitely not unusual for me to post ridiculously close to sporting event start times and so ultimately it is my fault this post is late. BUT this is my blog and so, oh well. ALSO, this event is taking place in Saudi Arabia and well, I kind of didn't realize that till just an hour or so ago. So yeah, this event is taking place in a massively different time zone. I should've been aware of this awhile ago. This sport is truly global.
My general awareness for the upcoming events should become a bit sharper because if you include today, there's going to be ELEVEN straight UFC events! The streak will go on until April 15th when we will be in mid spring, with summer around the corner. Pretty wild to think about.
The streak begins with a solid UFC Fight Night with some familiar faces.
Sergei Pavlovich and Jairzinho Rozenstruik is set up to be a ridiculous heavyweight bout. Sergei was knocking on the door of a title shot pretty recently and he's a tough out for almost anyone. Jairzinho is as gritty and skilled as it gets. All of a sudden Jairzinho has been in the UFC for six years? Yeah, time flies. Both men are in the top ten and could very much be in line for a title shot in the near future. I lean towards Sergei, but like BARELY. This one would be tough to bet on.
Shara Magomedov and Michael Venom Page are set to go to battle in a highly compelling middleweight match. Both men are quite recognizable in the sport in both similar yet quite different ways as well. Both are similar in that they're pretty new to the UFC itself, they're both hype trains and both provide exciting styles in the cage. They can strike for days. On the other hand, Shara is much younger and just an overall fresher prospect than Michael Venom Page (MVP). MVP is seven years older than Shara and already has an established legacy in a way, although it was made pretty much entirely outside the UFC. All of these factors combined creates a super interesting fight not only in terms of UFC history, but also for the sport of MMA as a whole. This will be awesome. The potential for an all-time fight here is large. I think Shara gets it done.
The main event features a future UFC Hall of Famer and all-time great fighter in former long time champion Israel Adesanya. Israel is set to face Nassourdine Imavov in a big middleweight fight. It's been ages since Israel hasn't fought for a UFC belt and it's not too common that he's not on a pay-per-view event.
I respect Israel's skills as a fighter overall, that is for sure. I'm not personally the biggest fan of him in general but he's definitely a great, especially in this era in the past decade-ish. He is still a high level fighter, but he's been losing more than ever in recent years. Obviously this is largely due to the fact that he ALWAYS fights the cream of the crop talent and he's had a huge target on his back for years. Adding to this point, Adesanya has a ton of film out there for opponents to prepare for him AND he's not exactly a super young fighter in terms of actual age and in terms of time spent in the octagon. He's always been one of the more active fighters on the roster. These factors aren't impossible to overcome especially for a fighter like Israel but, I do wonder if his best years are behind him. He COULD capture the belt again, but he will have to work very hard and evolve. Be more savvy, level up his grappling. Interesting times in Stylebender's career.
Israel is facing Nassourdine Imavov, a fighter six years younger. Imavov has steadily made a name for himself for the past half decade. He's earning a lot of respect with wins over established guys like Joaquin Buckley, Jared Cannonier and Brendan Allen just to name a few. He got beat pretty badly by Sean Strickland a few years back and his response has been pretty excellent. He's fought his way to another top tier, potentially life altering bout. If he can beat Israel Adesanya I mean, that's a worthy accomplishment no matter what happens the rest of his career and it could certainly warrant a title shot in the near future.
I might actually take Imavov in this fight. He's the younger, hungrier fighter I believe. But Israel defeating pretty much anyone would never shock me.
It's not bad to have a UFC event during the day like this. It's a chill feeling. Going to just simply enjoy them and be grateful. Good times.
