The Octagon heads to Saudi Arabia for the second time with one of the UFC’s biggest stars headlining as UFC on ESPN+ 108 takes place at the anb Arena in Riyadh.
Former UFC Middleweight Champion Israel Adesanya competes in his first non-title bout in nearly six years as he looks to end a two-fight losing skid and get back into the title picture when he battles Nassourdine Imavov. Imavov enters the fight on the heels of a four-fight unbeaten streak.
In the co-main event, undefeated rising contender Shara Magomedov looks for his 16th straight win against Michael “Venom” Page, who is moving up from welterweight for this fight.
Also on the main card is a battle of top-ten heavyweights as Sergei Pavlovich takes on Jairzinho Rozenstruik; a bantamweight bout pitting Said Nurmagomedov against Vinicius Oliveira; and an action-packed lightweight opener between Fares Ziam and Mike Davis.
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> Heavyweights- Hamdy Abdelwahab (3-0 1 NC, 0-0 1 NC UFC) vs. Jamal Pogues (11-4, 2-1 UFC)
Pogues lands some leg kicks as Abdelwahab connects with a left hook. Abdelwahab lands a right hand and they tie up against the fence. Abdelwahab gets Pogues down and starts landing as Pogues sprawls. Abdelwahab has back control and is landing left hands. They stand and separate. Abdelwahab lands a right hand. Pogues with a pair of jabs. Abdelwahab with a stiff leg kick. Pogues lands a leg kick followed by a right hand. Pogues with a jab then a right hand then back to the jab. Abdelwahab lands a leg kick. Pogues with a double jab followed with a leg kick. Abdelwahab lands a combo. 10-9 Abdelwahab.
Pogues lands and Abdelwahab lands a counter right hand. Pogues with a left hook that barely lands. Abdelwahab lands a leg kick. There’s not a lot of action going on. Abdelwahab lands a left hand. Pogues with a jab and Abdelwahab lands a right hand. Pogues lands a leg kick. Abdelwahab with a hard calf kick, but Pogues returns with one of his own. Pogues with another leg kick. Pogues with a combination. Pogues lands a stiff jab and Abdelwahab lands a leg kick. Abdelwahab with a jab. Pogues lands a right hand. 10-9 Pogues, 19-19.
They trade in close range. Abdelwahab is pressuring and lands a body kick. Pogues with a head kick. Pogues lands a jab. They trade kicks. Pogues lands a leg kick and Abdelwahab connects with a combo. They trade soft leg kicks. Pogues with a right hand. Pogues lands a stiff left hook. Abdelwahab lands a leg kick. Abdelwahab lands a kick. Abdelwahab with a left hook as Pogues lands a right hand. They trade in close range. 10-9 Pogues, 29-28 Pogues.
Official Result- Hamdy Abdelwahab def. Jamal Pogues by split decision (27-30, 29-28, 29-28)
> Featherweights*- Bogdan Grad (14-2, 0-0 UFC) vs. Lucas Alexander (8-4, 1-2 UFC)
*Alexander missed weight by 2.5 pounds
Grad pushing forward and Alexander lands a left hook. Grad with a leg kick then a right hand and looks for a takedown. They separate and Alexander just misses a jumping knee. Grad grabs the back of Alexander and lands some short knees to the leg. Grad looking for the takedown as Alexander lands some elbows. They scramble to the mat and Alexander ends up on top. Alexander with some right hands from the top. Grad trying to scramble up and he is able to get Alexander down. Alexander reverses and sweeps to the top before standing. Alexander with some leg kicks as Grad is down on his back. Grad gets to his feet. Alexander with a combination and lands a front kick. Grad tries for a takedown as Alexander lands and defends. Alexander gets on the back of Grad and lands. 10-9 Alexander.
They trade and Alexander trips Grad up with a leg kick and then lands some kicks as Grad gets to his feet. Grad is then able to get Alexander down and works from the half-guard. Grad lands and is working for the mount and Alexander almost gives up his back. Grad gets the mount and starts landing to the body then mixes to the head. Grad starts landing sharp elbows then mixes in some punches. Grad continuing to land and Alexander is not defending well. Grad continuing to pour it on and it gets stopped. Big finish from Grad to pick up the win in his debut.
Official Result- Bogdan Grad def. Lucas Alexander by TKO (strikes) at 4:22 of Round 2
> Women’s Flyweights- #12 Jasmine Jasudavicius (12-3, 6-2 UFC) vs. #7 WBW Mayra Bueno Silva (10-4-1 1 NC, 5-4-1 1 NC UFC)
They trade low leg kicks early. Jasudavicius lands a left hand. Jasudavicius lands a combination. Silva throws and connects before they clinch. They quickly break apart. Jasudavicius lands a left hook. Silva with a leg kick then lands a combination. Jasudavicius lands some and Silva grabs the neck as they go the mat. Silva has a guillotine locked in and Jasudavicius is defending. Jasudavicius breaks the grip and gets her neck out and is now inside of Silva’s guard. Jasudavicius gets to side control and has the crucifix position and lands some punches. Silva tries to scramble out and Jasudavicius gets the back and lands before getting back into side control. Jasudavicius ends up back in the half-guard. Silva is trying to roll for an arm. Silva looks for a leg now but time runs out. 10-9 Jasudavicius.
Jasudavicius lands a kick and Silva grabs the leg but lets go. They trade punches. Silva grabs the neck standing and lands a knee as she lets go. Silva lands a right hand. Silva with a knee in a brief clinch. Jasudavicius lands a right hand. Silva lands a left hook to the body, and then lands another. Silva with a leg kick. Jasudavicius lands a right hand and then another. Silva lands an elbow as she pressured Jasudavicius near the fence. They clinch and Jasudavicius lands some short uppercuts before they break. They trade and both land in a brief tie-up. Jasudavicius scores a takedown. Silva complains about something on the mat as Jasudavicius was landing. Silva trying to roll for a leg as Jasudavicius lands from the top. Jasudavicius scrambling and lands from the top. 10-9 Jasudavicius, 20-18 Jasudavicius.
They trade in close range before clinching up. They trade knees and separate. Jasudavicius with a standing elbow and lands a knee. Silva lands a right hand. They clinch and Jasudavicius lands a knee before they separate. Jasudavicius lands and then scores a takedown as Silva is tired. Jasudavicius in the half-guard and Silva is looking for a shoulder lock and an arm. Jasudavicius gets the mount and lands to the body as she has an arm-triangle available. She transitions and starts landing. Jasudavicius with lots of left hands as Silva is trying to scramble out but is stuck. Jasudavicius with more left hands. 10-9 Jasudavicius, 30-27 Jasudavicius.
Official Result- Jasmine Jasudavicius def. Mayra Bueno Silva by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
> Lightweights- Terrance McKinney (15-7, 5-4 UFC) vs. Damir Hadzovic (14-7, 4-5 UFC)
McKinney landing some high kicks early and Hadzovic lands a body kick. Hadzovic with a quick combo. McKinney lands a body kick and connects with some punches. Hadzovic looks for a takedown and gets it as McKinney has the neck. McKinney gets the mount and lands as Hadzovic looks to get out and almost gives up his back. McKinney with some elbows and punches. McKinney with lots of punches from the back and Hadzovic isn’t doing much. McKinney continues to pour it on and it is stopped. Big showing from McKinney to pick up the win.
Official Result- Terrance McKinney def. Damir Hadzovic by TKO (punches) at 2:01 of Round 1
> Heavyweights- #14 Shamil Gaziev (13-1, 2-1 UFC) vs. Thomas Petersen (9-2, 1-1 UFC)
Gaziev lands some punches early as Petersen is trying to clinch. Gaziev lands a body kick. Gaziev lands a right hook. Gaziev with a knee to the body. Petersen is able to get a takedown and has the back as they stand. Petersen lands some punches but they quickly separate. Petersen lands a combo. Petersen with a left hand. Gaziev lands a right hand. Gaziev drops Petersen with a massive right hand and it is all over! Gaziev with a walk-off knockout.
Official Result- Shamil Gaziev def. Thomas Petersen by TKO (punch) at 3:12 of Round 1
> Featherweights- Muhammad Naimov (11-3, 3-1 UFC) vs. Kaan Ofli (11-3-1, 0-1 UFC)
Naimov lands a right hand. Ofli with some leg kicks. Ofli lands a kick to the groin and timeout is called. They get back to action quickly. They trade leg kicks and Ofli was hurt after Naimov landed his. Naimov with some knees as they clinch up and they go to the fence. Ofli looking for the takedown as he has Naimov pressured against the fence. Ofli with some more knees. Ofli landing more knees, mixing to the body and legs. They separate. Naimov lands a left hand. Naimov with a right hand. Naimov lands a body kick and then briefly drops Ofli with a punch. Naimov then scores a takedown. They get to their feet and Naimov has the back of Ofli. They switch positions. 10-9 Naimov.
Naimov lands a jab and Ofli with a right hand as they clinch against the fence. They separate and Ofli lands a knee and a punch. They clinch back up as Ofli pushes it to the fence. They trade knees and Ofli maintains control and lands some knees. They trade punches and Naimov escapes and lands a flurry of punches. Ofli lands and Naimov is then able to grab the body and score a takedown. They get to their feet against the fence and Naimov maintains control and lands. Ofli reverses and lands a pair of shoulder strikes. They’re just leaning on each other and are separated by referee Marc Goddard. Naimov lands a combination. Ofli with a left hook. Naimov with two jabs. Close round. 10-9 Naimov, 20-18 Naimov.
Naimov lands a spin kick that barely lands. Ofli is pressuring as Naimov is circling around and Naimov scores a takedown. Naimov with some elbows from the mount and is landing lots of them trying to find a finish. Naimov gets the back. Naimov with some left hands from the back as he has the body triangle locked on. Naimov continues to land from the back and tries to set up a choke. Ofli lands a few back punches. Ofli gets to his feet and Naimov jumps off the back but still has control. They separate and Ofli lands a combo to the body. They both land. Naimov with a combo. 10-9 Naimov, 30-27 Naimov.
Official Result- Muhammad Naimov def. Kaan Ofli by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
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> Lightweights- Fares Ziam (16-4, 6-2 UFC) vs. Mike Davis (11-2, 4-1 UFC)
Davis with a leg kick and immediately goes for a takedown but pulls guard instead. They get to their feet and Davis is still working for the takedown. Davis pulls guard again. They get up and separate. Ziam lands a combo and Davis tries to get it down as they go to the mat. Ziam lands from the top. They stand and Ziam lands a combo. They clinch against the fence and Ziam with some knees. Ziam with a spinning elbow as they break. Ziam with a leg kick and a flurry of punches. Ziam lands to the body. Davis lands a right hand as Ziam lands an uppercut. Ziam with a jab as Davis looks for a takedown. Ziam lands a right hand as they separate. Davis lands a combo and gets a takedown after grabbing the back. Davis spins to the top and is in full mount. Ziam tries to reverse out but Davis stays in the half-guard and lands an elbow. Davis with a hammerfist from the top. 10-9 Ziam.
Davis with a big flurry to start as he connects with a solid left hand and then looks for a takedown. Ziam has the body lock and he is looking to get it down. Ziam with a knee to the body. Davis still working to get Ziam down to the ground. Ziam lands some knees and Davis is cut open. Ziam picks Davis up and carries him around before planting him on the mat. Ziam lands from the top. Davis looks for a heel hook but Ziam escapes. Davis may have a calf slicer in. Davis is bleeding all over. Davis moves to the mount position as he lets go of the calf. Ziam gets to his feet and Davis is still on his back as Ziam lands. They scramble and Ziam is in the half-guard. Ziam with some shots from the top to end the round. 10-9 Ziam, 20-18 Ziam.
Ziam pushes it to the fence. Ziam scores the takedown. Ziam working inside the guard of Davis next to the fence. Ziam stands but gets back on top and is landing. Ziam has the neck and looks to set up a choke but Davis scrambles out. Ziam is on top but Davis uses the butterfly guard to get it to the feet. Ziam with a combo and lands an elbow. Ziam gets it down and Davis looks for a heel hook. Ziam escapes but Davis ends up on top. Davis lands an elbow that cuts Ziam open. Davis lands a right hand. Ziam is bleeding badly. Close round. 10-9 Davis, 29-28 Ziam.
Official Result- Fares Ziam def. Mike Davis by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
> Bantamweights- Said Nurmagomedov (18-3, 7-2 UFC) vs. Vinicius Oliveira (21-3, 2-0 UFC)
Nurmagomedov with a leg kick. Oliveira lands a leg kick. Nurmagomedov lands a spinning back kick and Oliveira spins to the mat but quickly stands. Nurmagomedov lands a calf kick. Nurmagomedov with a spinning back fist. They scramble but separate on the feet. Nurmagomedov with a leg kick. Nurmagomedov tries a takedown and they scramble. They are clinched against the fence and Oliveira lands some knees. They separate and timeout is called for an eye poke. They get back to action and Nurmagomedov lands a head kick. Nurmagomedov lands a left hand and Oliveira stumbles. Nurmagomedov lands a flying knee but Oliveira is able to get him down. They scramble to their feet. 10-9 Nurmagomedov.
Nurmagomedov lands a head kick. Oliveira with a spin kick then a leg kick. They tie up against the fence. They separate and Oliveira lands a body kick before scoring a takedown. They scramble to their feet and separate. Nurmagomedov with a spin kick. They trade punches. Nurmagomedov is slowing down. Nurmagomedov complains of an eye poke but Oliveira lands a combo. Nurmagomedov gets a brief takedown. Nurmagomedov has the back and scores another takedown. They stand and Oliveira lands an elbow. They separate. Oliveira lands a big left hook then a high kick as both are winging shots. Oliveira with a body shot. 10-9 Oliveira, 19-19.
Oliveira lands a combination. Nurmagomedov throws a kick and slips to the mat and Oliveira jumps on top. Oliveira lands and Nurmagomedov looks for the leg. Oliveira landing as Nurmagomedov holds onto the leg. Oliveira scrambles and maintains body position. Oliveira looks for the neck as he lands a couple of punches. Oliveira looking for an anaconda choke. Oliveira with some left hands as he lets go. Oliveira with a knee to the body and some body punches. They scramble to their feet. Oliveira connects with a right hand and Nurmagomedov lands a pair of punches. Oliveira with a spin kick and a leg kick, but then Nurmagomedov lands a spinning back fist. Oliveira lands a combination. Nurmagomedov with a head kick. Nurmagomedov shoots for a takedown but Oliveira sprawls to defend. They scramble up. 10-9 Oliveira, 29-28 Oliveira.
Official Result- Vinicius Oliveira def. Said Nurmagomedov by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
> Heavyweights- #4 Sergei Pavlovich (18-3, 6-3 UFC) vs. #9 Jairzinho Rozenstruik (15-5, 9-5 UFC)
They trade leg kicks. Pavlovich lands a jab. Pavlovich with a right hand. Rozenstruik lands a switch body kick. Rozenstruik with an inside leg kick. Pavlovich connects with a right hand. They trade leg kicks and Pavlovich lands a left hand. He then lands a right hand followed by a jab. Pavlovich throws a right hand and Rozenstruik gets tripped to the mat. Pavlovich gets on top and starts landing. 10-9 Pavlovich.
Rozenstruik connects and Pavlovich lands a counter right hand. Rozenstruik with an inside leg kick as Pavlovich lands a jab. Rozenstruik lands a jab. Pavlovich with a right hand. They trade jabs. Pavlovich lands a right hand and Rozenstruik briefly goes down, but Pavlovich is able to get on top. Pavlovich landing to the head and body from top. Pavlovich remaining on top and landing punches. 10-9 Pavlovich, 20-18 Pavlovich.
Both throwing but neither landing for the first minute. They both connect with left hands and it appeared that Pavlovich landed harder. Pavlovich scores a takedown and is landing from the top. Pavlovich mixing shots to the head and body. Pavlovich doing enough to keep it from being stood up, but there isn’t much action going on. Pavlovich landing punches. They stand. Pavlovich stumbles Rozenstruik with a left hand. Rozenstruik with a left hand. 10-9 Pavlovich, 30-27 Pavlovich.
Official Result- Sergei Pavlovich def. Jairzinho Rozenstruik by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
> Middleweights- #14 Shara Magomedov (15-0, 4-0 UFC) vs. #15 WW Michael Page (22-3, 1-1 UFC)
They trade leg kicks. Magomedov with a leg kick. Magomedov with a high kick and Page lands a left hand. Page lands a right hand. Magomedov grabs the neck as Page slips while throwing. Page gets his head out. They separate. They trade leg kicks. Page lands to the body. Page connects with a straight right hand. Magomedov lands a leg kick. Page connects. Magomedov lands a body kick. Page with a leg kick. Magomedov with another leg kick and a body kick. Page lands a spin kick. 10-9 Page.
Page lands a right hand. Page lands another right hand and Magomedov was almost tripped up. Page just misses a spinning wheel kick. Page lands a spin kick. Page with a right hand and they tie up but quickly separate. Magomedov with a body kick. Page lands a jab. Page connects with a right hand and Magomedov lands a leg kick. Page with a left hand to the body. They trade. Page lands a right hand but just misses a spinning back fist. They clinch and Page pushes it to the fence. Page with an elbow on the break. 10-9 Page, 20-18 Page.
Magomedov with a leg kick but Page lands a stiff jab that pops Magomedov’s head back. Page lands a right hand. They tie up and Page has the underhooks and lands as they break. Page lands a right hand and Magomedov lands a knee. Page with a left hook. Page with a flying knee and they clinch up. Magomedov pushes it to the fence and lands some knees. Page lands as they break. Page lands an elbow. They trade punches. Page with a body kick and Magomedov lands a combo. Magomedov with a leg kick. Magomedov lands a right hand. Page slips on a spin kick but lands a couple of uppercuts and Magomedov ends the fight on top. 10-9 Magomedov, 29-28 Page.
Official Result- Michael Page def. Shara Magomedov by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
> Middleweights- #2 Israel Adesanya (24-4, 13-4 UFC) vs. #5 Nassourdine Imavov (15-4 1 NC, 7-2 1 NC UFC)
Adesanya with a leg kick followed by a body kick. Imavov lands a leg kick. Adesanya with a calf kick. They trade in close range and Adesanya with a high kick. Imavov looks for a takedown but Adesanya defends and they separate after a scramble. Adesanya with a jab and two leg kicks. Adesanya lands a jab. Adesanya lands a body kick. Imavov lands a combo. They clinch and Adesanya lands a knee and they break. Adesanya with a jab and a leg kick. Imavov lands an uppercut. Imavov shoots for a takedown and Adesanya defends against the cage. They break apart. Adesanya with a jab and a question mark kick. Adesanya lands a body kick. 10-9 Adesanya.
They trade leg kicks. Imavov lands and drops Adesanya with a right hand followed by an uppercut and starts landing from the top and Adesanya is hurt and it is all over! Wow, Imavov with a quick finish out of nowhere.
Official Result- Nassourdine Imavov def. Israel Adesanya by knockout (punches) at :30 of Round 2
