Imavov stakes UFC title claim with sensational knockout win over Adesanya

[p]The Frenchman lived up to his nickname of 'The Sniper' by landing a lightning-fast precision punch with his right hand to signal the beginning of the end of the fight early in the second round.[/p][p]Fighting in a non-title fight for the first time since February 2019, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/adesanya-israel/rcvXFy8D/"]Adesanya[/a] was attempting to kick-start another run for the belt that he controlled for several years before losing three of his last four attempts to be crowned champion.[/p][image alt="Israel Adesanya in action during his fight against Nassourdine Imavov" id="2c751918-ef46-455f-b38e-521694818594" credit-line="Reuters / Hamad I Mohammed" guid="9fa7a8be-0794-4717-9de3-d570fedf914e" original-width="4562" original-height="3117" /][p]He was dethroned by Brazil's Alex Pereira in November 2022, but he won the rematch before losing the title again on points to American Strickland and suffering a submission defeat by [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/du-plessis-dricus/vkkJANr5/"]Du Plessis[/a] of South Africa in his last outing in August 2024.[/p][p]Nicknamed 'Stylebender', Adesanya started well, landing heavy kicks to the body and using feints to draw out his French opponent, who came into the fight following a run of three wins from three in 2024.[/p][p]However, the tide turned sharply and the writing was on the wall for the Nigerian-born New Zealander when [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/imavov-nassourdine/SdR9R56T/"]Imavov[/a] landed that thunderous overhand right on his jaw, following it up with a vicious left uppercut as his opponent stumbled to the canvas.[/p][image alt="Nassourdine Imanov celebrates after winning his fight against Israel Adesanya" id="14647f0b-2d7d-4928-aa66-d17de775363e" credit-line="Reuters / Hamad I Mohammed" guid="e22cf54a-53f1-41ee-a8b6-c3e9c9b2868c" original-width="4978" original-height="3625" /][p]Referee Marc Goddard gave Adesanya a chance to recover but as Imavov continued to rain down blows, the referee waved off the fight, resulting in a knockout win for Imavov.[/p][p][b]"I said it all week long that I was in perfect shape," [/b]Imavov said through an interpreter.[/p][p][b]"I proved it tonight that I was the better striker. Now the real bonus for me is going to be to fight for the belt."[/b][/p][p]In the co-main event, England's Michael 'Venom' Page scored a unanimous decision win over Shara Magomedov, handing the Russian middleweight the first loss of his professional MMA career in a tense, tactical battle during which Page used his unpredictable striking to out-point his opponent.[/p]