Israel Adesanya will fight on a non-PPV Fight Night card for the first time in six years. The former middleweight champ, after all, is set to face #5 ranked Nassourdine Imavov on UFC Saudi Arabia on February 1. While some may see this as a demotion, ‘Izzy’ is unconcerned.

“Does it feel strange to find yourself on a Fight Night?” the UFC superstar’s brother, David asked him on his official YouTube channel. To which Adesanya immediately said, “Nah, not at all.”

“Someone said that to me yesterday,” Adesanya continued. “And I was like ‘No, I still get paid, you know.’ I still get a referee, there’s two of us in there, there’s a crowd. So it’s not like in the f***ing Apex or something. It doesn’t feel any different… So, yeah, different people are like ‘Oh my God must be eating him inside to be on a Fight Night.’ I was like ‘ew, it’s a Saudi Arabia Fight Night [card].” 

Of course, the one, quite significant difference that ‘Izzy’ failed to mention is that he won’t be getting any pay-per-view points, which could have been in the low six figures if he was headlining a PPV card. On the other hand, this fight is unique for ‘Izzy’ in more than one way, and has the potential to put him in perhaps the most intriguing matchup in the entire division.

Israel Adesanya shocked by Khamzat Chimaev’s UFC 308 clash

Israel Adesanya’s last 12 outings have been for the title. Now, after five long years, the former champ is set to fight in his first non-title fight and on a Fight Night card against Imavov next month. But what is next for Izzy if he defeats the Frenchman at their Fight Night clash? Well, ‘The Last Stylebender’ gave a hint in the same interview.

“I was surprised the way Khamzat ran through Rob[ert Whittaker], that was crazy. That was like ‘wow,’ that made me want to fight him. I was like okay this guy’s actually really really good,” Adesanya said.

Khamzat Chimaev, of course, came back after a horrible year at UFC 308 and destroyed former champ Robert Whittaker in the first round to prove yet again just why he is the most hyped higher in UFC history. While many feel that ‘Borz’ will fight the winner of the Du Plessis-Strickland 2 UC 312 title clash, there is another, much more interesting possibility.

After all, Adesanya needs an opponent, preferably an opponent who can catapult him into the title picture. And who better to do that than Khamzat Chimaev? What do you think about Israel Adesanya’s thoughts on fighting Imavov atop a Fight Night card?