Khabib Nurmagomedov praises Nassourdine Imavov after huge KO win over Israel Adesanya

Off the back of his stunning UFC Saudi Arabia win tonight, Nassourdine Imavov has been lauded by former lightweight champion and Hall of Fame inductee, Khabib Nurmagomedov — who noted his spectacular win over ex-middleweight titleholder, Israel Adesanya.

Imavov, the current number five ranked middleweight challenger, returned to action tonight in search of his fifth straight win in the headliner of UFC Saudi Arabia.

And taking on former two-time gold holder, Adesanya, surging talent, Imavov would turn in a devastating second round knockout win over the City Kickboxing ace, extending his winning spree to four straight outings to boot.

Staking his claim for a shot at the 185lbs throne in his return to action off the back of tonight’s win, Nassourdine Imavov confirmed he has sights fixed on this month’s UFC 312 main event title fight between Dricus du Plessis, and his former opponent, Sean Strickland.

“I ask you the question, I ask you the question, 4 top 10, 2 top 5, 2 top 10, have only 1 name, 2 finishes, I think I still deserve the belt,” Nassourdine Imavov told Paul Felder during his post-fight interview following his win at UFC Saudi Arabia. “I ask you the question again, do I deserve the belt or not? Which is, the record speaks for itself.”

And receiving praise from a host of stars in the mixed martial arts community — most notably Imavov was lauded by unbeaten former undisputed lightweight kingpin, Nurmagomedov, who described the French-Russian star’s win as wow-worthy.

Khabib Nurmagomedov praises Nassourdine Imavov after UFC Saudi Arabia win

“Just wow @Imavov1 my congratulations,” Khabib Nurmagomedov posted on his official X account following UFC Saudi Arabia tonight. “What a performance.”

Now in the midst of an impressive run of four consecutive victories, Imavov added Adesanya to his spree of triumphs, to add to notable successes over the trio of Roman Dolidze, Jared Cannonier, and Brendan Allen.