Nassourdine Imavov is gearing up for the biggest fight of his career at UFC Fight Night 250. The 29-year-old surging middleweight contender will take on former 2-time champion Israel Adesanya to headline UFC’s second event in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This will be ‘Izzy’s first non-title bout since February 2019. 

The French middleweight contender has been on a roll with three wins on the trot, and all of those wins came in just under eight months in 2024. However, Imavov also has his fair share of defeats as well. So, ahead of his big-time clash this weekend, let’s take a look at all the losses in his MMA career so far. 

Nassourdine Imavov’s MMA losses

Nassourdine Imavov, who was introduced to mixed martial arts at the age of 18, has a record of fifteen wins and four losses, along with one no-contest in his professional MMA career, but only two of these losses came in the UFC. His first loss came on his professional debut in 2016, at the hands of Ayadi Majdeddine on his professional MMA debut, where Imavov tapped out to a guillotine choke in the first round.

The Dagestan-born Frenchman came back strongly, however, and put together a three-fight win streak until he lost to Michal Michalski at FEN 19 in 2017 via a unanimous decision after three rounds. Meanwhile, Nassourdine Imavov was handed his first UFC defeat when he suffered a close, majority decision loss against Phil Hawes at UFC Fight Night 185. 

Then again, in 2023, Nassourdine Imavov suffered his fourth loss against former middleweight champion Sean Strickland at UFC Fight Night 217 in a light heavyweight bout. Having taken the fight on short notice, he lost by unanimous decision after five rounds. Now, let’s take a look at his overall record and statistics in the 29-year-old’s MMA career so far.

Nassourdine Imavov’s UFC record and stats

As we’ve already mentioned, Nassourdine Imavov has a 15-4 (1NC) record, and six of those victories have come off knockouts. Despite being born in Dagestan, a place that is known for budding wrestling-heavy fighters, the 29-year-old appears to have only 4 wins via submission. And guess what? Imavov has yet to register a submission win in his UFC career.

While Imavov’s takedown accuracy may not be that good, his striking accuracy is respectable, as it stands at 55 percent, according to the UFC stats. He even has a decent striking defense, but his defensive prowess when it comes to stopping takedown attempts from his opponents is what stands out in terms of statistics. Imavov’s takedown defense stands at an impressive 78 percent.

Nassourdine Imavov is a highly skillful and versatile attacker who uses his length and mobility to keep opponents at bay. His sharp jab, combined with his versatile kicks, and a strong takedown defense, is expected to prove challenging for the Israel Adesanya. Nevertheless, share with us your predictions for the UFC Saudi Arabia headliner in the comments down below.