UFC Saudi Arabia Preview: Rookie Report

You only get one Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) debut!

UFC is back in “The Land of the Two Holy Mosques” for UFC Saudi Arabia this weekend (Sat., Jan. 18, 2025) inside anb Arena in Riyadh. The card is loaded with fun fights from top to bottom and is headlined by Israel Adesanya competing in his first non-title fight in six years (check out the entire card here). Two fighters are making their UFC debut (well, kind of … I’ll get to that later).

Let’s meet them.

Bogdan Grad

Weight Class: Featherweight

Age: 29

Record: 14-2

Austria’s Bogdan Grad has his dreams crushed in the first episode of season seven of Contender Series when he got knocked out in under two minutes by Australian prospect Tom Nolan.

Grad returned to the European regional scene, scored two knockout wins, and got the call to get a second shot on season eight of Contender Series against Michael Aswell, where he won a split decision. The fight ended up being an absolute slugfest and got dubbed ‘one of the best fights ever on Contender Series’ by UFC CEO Dana White.

“The Unleashed” is very aggressive and has the power to stop just about anyone in the Featherweight division if he lands flush. He holds a 77% finish rate with eight knockout wins and two submission wins.

He’s also quick and has pretty good counter shots.

While he did get slept on Contender Series, which could raise questions about durability, mainly because he’s fighting down at 145 lbs. Grad spent most of his career at Lightweight, and he mentioned in his post-fight Contender Series interview that he dropped to Featherweight because the man who knocked him out, Nolan, is a gigantic Lightweight standing 6′ 3″.

Nevertheless, Grad will win and lose fights in the UFC, but he’ll be exciting while doing it.

He faces Lucas Alexander in his UFC debut, a fun matchup as both fighters come forward. Alexander is coming off a brutal knockout loss to a guy he was a -530 betting favorite over.

If the fight ends up being a brawl, Grad should put Alexander’s lights out.

Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC

Kaan Ofli

Weight Class: Featherweight

Age: 31

Record: 11-3-1

Okay, so Kaan Ofli technically fought in the UFC back at UFC Vegas 96 in The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) season 31 finals, where he got viciously knocked out by Marion Santos (watch highlights).

I personally don’t consider that a proper UFC debut, but if you do, that’s cool. Enjoy the fights this weekend.

Anyways, Ofli is a solid fighter. He has competent striking but gets hit a lot. He really thrives when he wrestles because he has excellent control and a great submission game. On TUF, Ofli showcased his wrestling in both fights and dominated (he strangled Roedie Roets in 30 seconds).

The problem arises when his opponents have good takedown defense, which might occur in his fight this weekend against Muhammad Naimov. Add that Naimov has sneaky big power, and Ofli could wake up while looking at the arena roof at some point during the fight.

LIVE! Stream UFC Saudi Arabia On ESPN+

MIDDLEWEIGHT MAYHEM! Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) heads back to ANB Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Sat., Feb. 1, 2025, with an important 185-pound main event featuring former division champion, Israel Adesanya, taking on fast-rising French sensation, Nassourdine Imavov. In addition, undefeated hometown hero, Shara Magomedov, looks to defend his home turf against savvy striker and former Bellator MMA bruiser, Michael Page, in UFC Saudi Arabia’s hard-hitting co-headliner.

Don’t miss a single second of face-punching action!

MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC Saudi Arabia fight card RIGHT HERE, starting with the ESPN+ preliminary card matchups, which are scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. ET, followed by the remaining main card balance on ESPN+ at 12 p.m. ET.

To check out the latest and greatest UFC Saudi Arabia news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive here. For the updated and finalized “Adesanya vs. Imavov” fight card and ESPN+ lineup click here.