Instead of bringing some clarity to the middleweight title fight, the UFC Louisville main event brought more confusion — through no fault of Nassouddin Imavov’s.
On Saturday, Imavov and Jared Cannonier faced off in a high-level 185-pound matchup in the main event of UFC on ESPN 57 at the KFC Yum Center in Louisville, Kentucky. In the first two rounds, both fighters struggled with the other’s arsenal. Cannonier was repeatedly knocked back by Imavov’s lightning-fast jabs, especially the double jab, while Imavov struggled with Cannonier’s kicks to the calf and the strength and leverage he had against the cage. Cannonier looked slightly more dominant in the middle rounds, landing some heavier strikes, including some vicious leg kicks. It was Imavov who started the ground game in the third round, quickly dragging the “Killer Gorilla” to the canvas before getting to his feet and taking his back. Cannonier managed to escape unscathed, but Imavov landed some clean shots in the center of the cage to end the round with the best momentum he had all night.
Imavov quickly resumed his attack in the fourth round, taking up a position in the center of the Octagon and refusing to attack Cannonier on the periphery as he had done in the first and second rounds, rocking him with right hooks. Cannonier stumbled away, and Imavov pursued him, showering him with punches. Cannonier appeared to recover somewhat, but Imavov continued his onslaught with clean punches. A flurry of punches sent Cannonier staggering toward the fence, wounded but alert and trying to defend himself, before referee Jason Herzog stepped in to stop the fight by a standing TKO. A cool but exasperated Cannonier immediately protested the decision, and the finish, which will likely be debated for weeks to come, was recorded as a win for Imavov at 1 minute, 34 seconds into the fourth round. With the win, the Dagestan-born Frenchman extended his unbeaten streak to three bouts since his loss to Shawn Strickland and put himself in position for a shot at the middleweight title. Imavov had taken to the microphone to call for a rematch with Strickland on UFC’s next card in France. The loss ended Cannonier’s modest win streak, which he had won two straight since his failed title attempt.
In a showdown for a future contender and possibly a spot on the UFC roster, Dominick Reyes did just that. In the co-main event of UFC Louisville, the former light heavyweight title challenger (13-4) returned to action for the first time in 18 months and knocked out Dustin Jacoby (19-9-1) in the first round to end a four-fight losing streak. Neither fighter seemed to fully regain his composure, with Jacoby quickly going on the offensive, coming forward with punches and dangerous low kicks while Reyes stood back to counterattack. Perhaps mistaking Reyes’ strategic retreat for a retreat, Jacoby pursued him aggressively – too aggressive, in the end. “The Devastator” caught Jacoby with a short left hand, staggering him, then when “The Hanyak” charged back again, he violently unsettled him with a two-punch combination, interspersed with a knee strike. Reyes gave chase and began throwing punches, sending Jacoby crashing into the fence. He mostly missed his first volley, but when Reyes began throwing punches while Jacoby stumbled, referee Dan Miragliotta stepped in to stop the bout. The stoppage two minutes into the first round gave Reyes his first win in nearly five years. At 34, he may be a breath of fresh air in the division after coming so close to winning the title from Jon Jones at UFC 247. Jacoby, who cracked the top 10 in his second UFC run, has struggled, losing four of his last five fights.
UFC’s youngest fighter, Raul Rosas Jr., has further put his lone professional setback behind him. He withstood all the mayhem Ricky Tarcios could throw at him and earned a submission victory in the second round. Their bantamweight showdown, scheduled to take place in February but postponed due to Rosas’ illness the week of the fight, proved worth the wait. Tarcios pounced on Rosas as soon as the bout began, unleashing a flurry of punches, kicks and takedown attempts calculated to provoke his usual scramble. Rosas kept his cool and appeared to be winning the majority of the round with precise counter strikes and positional advantages on the ground, but the best offensive moment of the first round came when Tarcios got behind Rosas and forced him to defend against a rear-naked choke and face crank. The second round started off similarly hectic and competitive, but Rosas was ready to calm the storm. Rosas got behind Turcios in the scramble, locked in a body triangle and applied a rear-naked choke of his own. Turcios defended well for a while, but Rosas adjusted his grip and slid his arm under his chin to induce the tap. Referee Blake Grice stepped in at 2 minutes, 22 seconds into the second round to rescue Turcios, giving Rosas his second consecutive win since losing by decision to Christian Rodriguez last year.
In a matchup of finish-oriented middleweights, Bruno Ferreira survived one of the most entertaining rounds of the year before blasting Dustin Stoltzfus with a spinning back elbow. Ferreira (12-1) and Stoltzfus (15-6) got to work quickly, trading flurries of punches and intense wrestling sequences. Stoltzfus seemed to have the upper hand in the first half of the round, but Ferreira caught Stoltzfus with a spinning back elbow, a foreshadowing of things to come, as “The Hulk” spun around again moments later, this time catching Stoltzfus square on. The Pennsylvania native stumbled and collapsed, and as he tried to get to his feet, referee Jason Herzog tried to stop the bout, but Stoltzfus didn’t complain and instead seemed to acknowledge the legitimacy of the stoppage. The sensational finish made Ferreira win all four of his UFC bouts by first-round knockout and improves to 3-1. Stoltzfus has alternated wins and losses in his past five bouts inside the Octagon since 2021.
Zachary Reese quickly bounced back from the first defeat of his career, taking down Julian Marquez with a body kick and punches in just 20 seconds in their middleweight bout. Reese (7-1) was willing to fight back against the brawling Marquez (9-5), but he had a sharp sense of space and distance. The finish was set up with a hard left kick to the body, then capped off with a beautiful right uppercut that split Marquez’s glove and landed pinpoint on his mouth. “The Cuban Missile” went limp, and Reese pounced with hammerfists. Referee Dan Miragliotta tried to stop the bout, but Marquez stumbled and protested. The swift finish made “The Barbarian” 1-1 at UFC and extended Marquez’s losing streak to a career-worst three straight.
Opening the main card, Punahele Soriano announced his arrival to the UFC welterweight division in brutal fashion, grounding and battering Miguel Baeza in three one-sided rounds. Both fighters entered the cage with something to prove. Soriano (10-4) was moving down from middleweight for the first time, while Baeza (10-4) was returning from a nearly two-year hiatus due to surgery for a back injury. Soriano excelled in his new weight class, utilizing wrestling moves that are underutilized at 185 pounds. The first round was a bizarre one, with Baeza spending the better part of five minutes trying to land a heel hook, followed by a kneebar. Soriano looked in danger for a few seconds, but escaped unscathed. More importantly, Soriano continued to land punches while defending against Baeza, gaining momentum as his feet moved out of danger. As the second round began, the devastation began. Soriano quickly took Baeza to the ground and pummeled him with ground strikes. Referee Rob Mooney looked closely to try and save the Florida native, but Baeza kept moving, blocked some strikes, and generally kept busy enough to avoid a stoppage. Soriano did the exact same thing in the third round, taking Baeza down again and attacking from top position for most of the round, so this was a moral victory at best. An instant “Beatdown of the Year” candidate, this scathing performance earned Soriano a unanimous decision victory with scores of 30-25 twice and a very modest 30-27 once. With this win, Soriano made a name for himself as a fighter to watch at 170 pounds, while Baeza’s future is uncertain after four straight losses, including two by knockout and a one-sided defeat on Saturday.
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