Nassourdine Imavov reacts to early stoppage claims in Jared Cannonier fight at UFC Louisville

Nassourdine Imavov recently expressed his thoughts on the early stoppage claims in his fight against Jared Cannonier at UFC Louisville. The event took place on June 8 at the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Kentucky. This marked the promotion's second-ever visit to the city.

In the main event, Cannonier squared off against Imavov in a middleweight bout. The No. 4-ranked middleweight contender had recorded two strong victories over top middleweights Sean Strickland and Marvin Vettori after losing the title fight against Israel Adesanya at UFC 276.

Meanwhile, Imavov was looking to secure his second victory of the year after defeating Roman Dolidze via majority decision earlier this year at UFC Fight Night 235.

Throughout the first two rounds, Imavov was unable to provide any significant offensive output, forcing the 40-year-old to fight in different positions. However, things started to turn around at the end of the second round when Imavov learned when to counter Cannonier's leg kicks, effectively countering each time 'The Killa Gorilla' tried one.

Imavov stunned Cannonier with a hard right hook in the fourth round. As Cannonier wobbled around the cage, the Frenchman pursued him, launching follow-up punches. Cannonier maintained his guard, trying not to take any damage.

Referee Jason Herzog intervened to stop the bout, which drew a quick protest from Cannonier and the audience. Ultimately, Imavov won the fight via fourth-round TKO.

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Following his victory against Cannonier, Imavov was asked about the early stoppage by Herzog in the post-fight press conference. In response, he said:

''It's the job of the referee to decide if the fighter is about to keep going or not. He took already a lot of damage, he would have taken even more if the fight have continued. So I think it was a right decision to stop him.''

Check out Nassourdine Imavov's comments below: