Israel Adesanya might have a fifth crack at snapping the worst run of his career, and it could come against a guy who has been calling his name for months. MMA reporter Kevin K wrote on X on October 5 that Shara Magomedov is the target for Adesanya’s next fight, with the UFC eyeing November 28 for a rumored return to Saudi Arabia. He added a detail that bumps this from interesting to loud: “This is expected to be the main event as well, I’m told per multiple sources.”
Nothing is official. The UFC hasn’t announced the card or the date. But the calendar has a hole in it shaped like a Saudi event. UFC Qatar sits on November 21 and UFC 335 lands December 12, which leaves a three-week gap. If it happens, it would be the promotion’s third trip to the Kingdom.
Adesanya, the former two-time middleweight champion, is on a four-fight losing streak. The most recent loss came at UFC Seattle, where Joe Pyfer stopped him in the second round with heavy ground and pound at Climate Pledge Arena. That one stung for a lot of reasons, and the timing made it worse. Back in July, Adesanya announced he was leaving longtime coach Eugene Bareman and City Kickboxing, the team behind his entire UFC run. He has also made it clear he isn’t ready to retire.
Magomedov, meanwhile, has been campaigning for this exact fight. After beating Michel Pereira at UFC Baku in June, “Shara Bullet” called out Adesanya. That win was his second straight and gave him six victories inside the Octagon. His pitch was straightforward: he wants to climb the middleweight rankings by going through a big name, and there aren’t many bigger at 185 than Adesanya.
The Baku card produced a strange little family subplot. Abus Magomedov, who submitted Michal Oleksiejczuk in the first round earlier that same night, also asked for Adesanya. At the post-fight press conference, Shara said he wanted the fight but would step aside and let Abus have it if the opportunity came up. Apparently the opportunity came Shara’s way instead.
This isn’t the only fight floating around the rumored card. Michael Morales shared private messages with Ian Garry about meeting at UFC Saudi Arabia, so the matchmakers may be building something with real weight behind it.
My take: I’ve spent a career warning people off fighters who come back looking for redemption at short odds, and Adesanya checks a lot of uncomfortable boxes here. Four straight losses, a brand-new camp after splitting with the only coach he’s known, and a stoppage loss as his most recent memory. The other side of the ledger is a hungry Russian who has won two in a row and has been begging for this exact name since June. No line is out yet, so I won’t pretend to know where it opens. If the books hang Adesanya as a favorite on reputation alone, though, I’ll be the grumpy guy staring hard at the Magomedov side. November 28 is the date to circle, pending the UFC making any of this real.
