Nassourdine Imavov stops Jared Cannonier in UFC main event

Nassourdine Imavov earned the largest win of his UFC profession on Saturday, defeating former title challenger Jared Cannonier by TKO within the fourth spherical.

Imavov (14-4) completed Cannonier (17-7) with punches alongside the fence at 1:34 of the fourth spherical of their middleweight principal occasion inside KFC Yum! Middle in Louisville, Kentucky.

It was a strong efficiency by Imavov, though there was some controversy over the end. Imavov damage Cannonier with a proper hand and had him in bother alongside the fence, though veteran referee Jason Herzog did seem like a little bit fast in stopping the bout. Cannonier was nonetheless very conscious and instantly protested the stoppage.

Cannonier was up on two of the three judges’ scorecards coming into Spherical 4.

“I used to be able to proceed the combat,” Imavov mentioned via an interpreter. “The referee, that is his job. That is what he does each day, so I feel he made the correct choice. However I used to be able to preserve going.”

Whether or not the stoppage was untimely or not, Imavov was spectacular in his third UFC principal occasion. He appeared snug standing within the pocket with Cannonier and transformed two of three takedown makes an attempt to combine up his offense. Cannonier landed some good elbows and punches on the within in what was a really aggressive bout, however Imavov’s offense within the fourth spherical was essentially the most vital of the combat.

Imavov improved to 2-0 this yr, with two huge wins over Roman Dolidze and Cannonier. He known as for former 185-pound champion Sean Strickland in France, though it is value noting Strickland has mentioned he plans to attend for a title shot.

Cannonier, who returned from a torn MCL final yr, suffered his first loss since he got here up brief to then-champion Israel Adesanya in July 2022. Going into Saturday’s bout, Cannonier was ranked No. 4 within the UFC’s middleweight division, whereas Imavov was No. 7.

Within the co-main occasion, former mild heavyweight title challenger Dominick Reyes (13-4) snapped a four-fight dropping streak in opposition to Dustin Jacoby. Reyes challenged Jon Jones for the 205-pound championship in 2020 and fought him to an in depth choice loss. Following that defeat, nevertheless, he misplaced his subsequent three all by knockout. A clear left hand and knee up the center lastly earned Reyes his first victory since October 2019.

Raul Rosas Jr. (9-1), the 19-year-old phenom, picked up his third win within the UFC with a submission victory over Ricky Turcios.