UFC makes Adesanya vs. Magomedov official for Dec. 5 in Riyadh, adds Garry vs. Amosov

Israel Adesanya will fight Sharabutdin "Shara Bullet" Magomedov in a five-round middleweight main event in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Saturday, Dec. 5. The UFC announced the fight during the UFC Vegas 124 broadcast on Saturday, Nov. 7, Sherdog reported. The co-main is a five-round welterweight fight between Ian Machado Garry and Yaroslav Amosov.

The card is at ANB Arena, according to Cageside Press, and streams live on Paramount+, according to Sherdog. It is the UFC's last Fight Night of 2026, one week before UFC 335 in Las Vegas, SB Nation noted. NY Fights reported the event had been in doubt for weeks, with tensions in the Middle East adding to the uncertainty. As of Sunday, it still wasn't listed on ufc.com.

Both fights had been reported before Saturday. Ariel Helwani reported Adesanya vs. Magomedov in mid-October, AgentMMA wrote on Oct. 15. Adesanya later said on his Precision Podcast, "We just signed the contract yesterday," Sherdog reported on Oct. 28. Garry vs. Amosov was first reported for UFC 335 on Dec. 12 before it moved to this card.

After the announcement, Adesanya posted on X, as MMA Sucka reported:

I don't need much. But Imma have it all!

Adesanya's skid

The 37-year-old former two-time champion is 24-6 and ranked No. 9 at middleweight on ufc.com. His last win was the knockout of Alex Pereira that won back the title at UFC 287 in April 2023. Since then he has lost to Sean Strickland, Dricus Du Plessis, Nassourdine Imavov and, in March, Joe Pyfer. The Imavov loss, a second-round TKO in February 2025, was also a Riyadh main event.

He closed as the favourite in all four of those losses, from -650 against Strickland to -116 against Du Plessis, according to our Adesanya page. In 11 UFC fights with odds on record, he was favoured every time and went 5-6.

This is also his first fight since he announced in July that he was leaving coach Eugene Bareman and City Kickboxing. He called that move "bittersweet, but it's the right thing for me," per Cageside Press. On the podcast he added, "The last three years have just not been fun."

Magomedov is 17-1, 6-1 in the UFC, with 12 wins by KO or TKO, according to his Sherdog record. His one loss was a decision to Michael "Venom" Page on the same February 2025 Riyadh card where Adesanya lost to Imavov. He closed -211 that night, per our Magomedov page. He has won twice since, most recently a decision over Michel Pereira in June.

Magomedov is ranked No. 15, and this is his first fight against a former UFC champion. It is not a title eliminator. Strickland holds the belt, with Khamzat Chimaev, Du Plessis and Imavov the top three contenders.

The co-main

Garry (17-2) is ranked No. 1 at welterweight. He lost a unanimous decision to champion Islam Makhachev at UFC 330 on Aug. 15, closing at +270, per our Garry page. His only other loss, to Shavkat Rakhmonov in December 2024, came at +300.

Amosov (30-1) is a former Bellator welterweight champion, now ranked No. 11. He has won three straight by submission, including UFC wins over Neil Magny last December and Joel Alvarez in May. He closed -189 against Alvarez, per our Amosov page. His only loss was a knockout by Jason Jackson in November 2023, according to Wikipedia.

We think the co-main matters more for the rankings than the main event. Garry is No. 1 and needs a win to stay next in line. Cageside Press says beating him could put the No. 11 Amosov in the title conversation. The main event is No. 9 against No. 15, and it's about whether Adesanya can still win at this level, not about the next title shot.

There are no odds on our site for the Dec. 5 fights yet. Sherdog lists the rest of the main card, and Arab News reports the same four fights:

• Serghei Spivac vs. Mario Pinto (heavyweight)
• Levan Chokheli vs. Islam Dulatov (welterweight)
• Mairon Santos vs. Akbar Abdullaev (lightweight)
• Magomed Tuchalov vs. Ion Cutelaba (light heavyweight)