UFC gave us a Saturday morning start time with a UFC Fight Night event from Saudi Arabia. A new contender rose, a former champ fell, and a salty old dog held off the new hotness, among other notable (and not-so notable) occurrences.

Here are the five biggest takeaways from UFC Saudi Arabia.

1. Welcome to the short list of middleweights who matter, Nassourdine Imavov

Whatever we may say about Israel Adesanya’s future after this fight, this is a guy who doesn’t lose to anyone who isn’t very, very good. Nassourdine Imavov just became only the second person to stop the former champ with strikes in an MMA fight. The other one is current UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira.

If you stop Adesanya, you’re in the title picture. That’s the rule. He's now won four straight, and he just added a former champion to his hit list. His only recent loss is to Sean Strickland, another ex-champ, so at this point we have to admit that Imavov is a player in this weight class.

The challenge for him now is finding a way to stand out among the upper echelon. Imavov, to put it gently, doesn't exactly ooze personality. Like it or not, there's more to this business than just winning the fights. Right now he probably has Khamzat Chimaev in front of him, with a lot depending on how the rematch between champion Dricus du Plessis and Sean Strickland plays out next month.

Imavov could end up having to fight again in order to make his case for a title shot. Then we'll find out where he really stands in the division.

2. “The Last Stylebender” just found the fork in the road

A little less than two years ago, he was the UFC middleweight champ. Now he’s lost three straight, with defeats inside the distance in the past two. This is a man who, prior to this current skid, had never lost two fights in a row. At age 35, it seems safe to say that Adesanya’s days as the best in any division are now over for good.

So what comes next? Adesanya got caught with a good shot, but before that he didn’t look like a fighter with nothing left. He looked like himself, though maybe just slightly slower, with a barely perceptible drop off in the once razor sharp reflexes. Trouble is, we've seen how this often goes for flashy counter strikers like him. One minute you can't be touched. Then you lose half a step and suddenly the punches that used to miss by millimeters are connecting — and hurting.

Adesanya isn't done. There are a lot of fighters in the UFC he can still beat. He can keep on keeping on in the middleweight class if he wants to. The question is, for what? If he’s not headed back to a title, it might be time to think about shifting him into that “fun fight” mode. Plenty of older ex-champs have found a second wind that way. But it does require a certain realignment of expectations.

3. “MVP” is still a tough out and a frustrating night

This fight was a big opportunity for Shara Magomedov to step up and show off. But people forget that Michael “Venom” Page has lasted this long, in part, because he’s learned a few tricks along the way.

Stylistically, Page is still a tough puzzle to solve. Even at age 37, he’s a potential problem in two different divisions. You take that guy lightly at your own peril. Now we need to find him something exciting to do for his next outing. A meeting with Leon Edwards on British soil might fit the bill if the former welterweight champ gets past Jack Della Maddalena in March.

4. One thing you can say for winning an ugly fight? It’s better than losing an ugly fight

So, OK, Sergei Pavlovich didn’t exactly blow our minds with his decision win over Jairzinho Rozenstruik. You book two heavyweights like that, you’re hoping it won’t see the scorecards. Pavlovich did enough to win without doing enough to impress. That keeps him in the hunt.

It also snaps a two-fight losing streak, which was probably on his mind a lot more than entertaining the crowd. Obviously we all want a heavyweight slugfest from a fight like this. But put yourself in Pavlovich's shoes. He needed a win in a bad, bad way. Why stand there swinging for it all night once you've figured out that there are safer paths to the waterfall?

5. Ever see a guy get hit so hard he takes his own mouthpiece out and calls it a night?

Now you have. Shamil Gaziev tagged Thomas Petersen so cleanly that Petersen had barely hit the deck before he reached up for the old gum shield.

That makes the ref’s job easier. It also gives us a clue as to just how unpleasant an experience it might be to end up on the business end of one of Gaziev’s punches. It certainly made an impression on Petersen.