Nigerian-born New Zealander, Israel Adesanya, is set to return from his short hiatus and headline a pulsating fight against fast-rising star Khamzat Chimaev in UFC’s first-ever event to be held in Saudi Arabia.
The first-ever UFC event in Saudi Arabia was initially scheduled to be held in March but was moved to June 22 after reports were suggested that “key figures in the Gulf state were unhappy with the quality of the proposed fights”, a report UFC president has debunked.
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The news about Adesanya facing Chimaev in a middleweight bout was leaked by a Saudi-based ticketing website that advertised a ticket link for the fight for Kingdom Arena on Tuesday (20 February).
According to Yahoo Sports, “While the website states it is “not an official site” – which the UFC reiterated – it insists: “We sell only official tickets and guarantee their authenticity to our clients.”
Adesanya went on a self-imposed hiatus after losing to Sean Strickland last September in his first title defence after winning back the middleweight title from arch-rival Alex Pereira while Chimaev’s last visit to the octagon was in a unanimous decision win over Kamaru Usman in October.
Fans of the UFC have called for the fight since the Russian-born Swede made his UFC debut in 2020.
