Adesanya Set to Fight in Qatar This November

Former UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya will headline UFC Qatar on November 21. He is set to face Russia’s Shara “Bullet” Magomedov.

Reports from Russia say the two fighters are scheduled for a five-round main event at the ABHA Arena in Doha.

The UFC has confirmed it will return to Qatar on this date. However, they have not announced any other fights for the card or confirmed this matchup yet.

Magomedov has been eager for this fight for a while. He called out Adesanya after defeating Armen Petrosyan at UFC 308 in October 2024. He mentioned that he used to follow Adesanya during their kickboxing days in China.

“I used to chase Israel Adesanya when he fought kickboxing in China. I was fighting kickboxing in China, too,” Magomedov said, according to MMA Fighting.

The Russian fighter won against Michel Pereira by unanimous decision at UFC Baku on June 27. This victory improved his record to 17-1, and he is currently ranked No. 15 in the middleweight division.

Adesanya, on the other hand, is facing challenges. The 37-year-old has lost four consecutive fights, including a second-round technical knockout to Joe Pyfer. He has a record of 1-5 in his last six bouts.

In July, he left City Kickboxing after 16 years with the gym and coach Eugene Bareman. Recently, he has been training at Alexander Volkanovski’s gym in Wollongong, Australia. One of his nutritionists even shared a video of him in training, suggesting that his return is near.

Adesanya has expressed that his pride is motivating him to continue fighting despite these setbacks.

“I don’t want this to be the writing of my story, because I feel like, yes, I took part in this, but this is not what I wanted to write. This is not how I wanted to end,” he said in June.