Israel Adesanya has all but confirmed his next fight. The former two-time UFC middleweight champion posted a photo to his Instagram of himself sipping from a cup beside a large graphic featuring his own image and that of Shara Magomedov, the Dagestani striker known as ‘Shara Bullet’. The caption was simply “*sips tea*”.
Check out Israel Adesanya‘s post below:
The post landed after Ariel Helwani reported on October 16 that Adesanya would headline UFC Saudi Arabia against Magomedov on December 5 in Riyadh. The UFC has yet to officially announce the booking.
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A day earlier, on the ‘Precision Podcast’ with Demetrious Johnson, ‘The Last Stylebender‘ said the paperwork was done (h/t MMA Junkie):
“We just signed the contract yesterday. Finally, both of them. You know, you’ve got the disclosed purse and the other one.”
He did not name an opponent on the episode, but he did not need to:
“All I’m going to say is there’s going to be blood in the sand. It’s easy to talk because I’ve lost my last four, but it’s all good. There will be blood in the sand, and it’s not going to be me.”
Israel Adesanya’s four straight losses in the UFC
That last part is the one with recent evidence behind it. Israel Adesanya, 37, has not won since April 2023, when he knocked out Alex Pereira at UFC 287 to reclaim the middleweight title.
Sean Strickland outpointed him at UFC 293 that September, Dricus du Plessis submitted him in the fourth round at UFC 305 in August 2024, Nassourdine Imavov stopped him in the second round in Saudi Arabia in February 2025, and Joe Pyfer finished him with ground and pound in the second round at UFC Seattle in March.
Shara Magomedov comes in from the opposite direction. The Russian is 17-1 with his only defeat a unanimous decision against Michael ‘Venom’ Page in February 2025.
He has since won two straight, including a unanimous decision over Michel Pereira at UFC Baku in June, where Pereira dropped him early and he was warned for grabbing hair and for an eye poke without losing a point.
The matchup has been brewing since October 2024, when Magomedov knocked out Armen Petrosyan with two spinning backfists at UFC 308 and said the only way Adesanya could avoid him was to retire. Adesanya answered on YouTube, in far blunter language, to keep his name out of Magomedov’s mouth.
Edited by Saiyed Adeem Karim
