UFC Louisville: Jared Cannonier vs. Nassourdine Imavov - Main card, start time, main event walkouts, and more

UFC on ESPN: Cannonier vs. Imavov, popularly known as UFC Louisville is scheduled to take place on June 8 at the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Kentucky, USA.

The event will mark the UFC's second visit to the city since its inception. The promotion will return to the city for the first time since UFC Live: Sanchez vs. Kampmann took place in March 2011.

In the main event, No.4-ranked middleweight contender and former title challenger Jared Cannonier will fight No.8-ranked Nassourdine Imavov in a five-round main event.

Cannonier has scored back-to-back wins over elite middleweights Sean Strickland and Marvin Vettori since losing to Israel Adesanya at UFC 276. He will attempt to fend off the rising Imavov and stake further his quest for the title shot.

Meanwhile, Imavov will attempt to score his second straight win since defeating Roman Dolidze in February. The 29-year-old's previous losses to Sean Strickland and Phil Hawes halted his winning streaks and derailed his momentum. However, a win over Cannonier holds the potential to catapult him into the top five of the division.

In the co-main event, former two-time lightweight title challenger Dominick Reyes will try to end his four-fight loss streak as he takes on DWCS standout Dustin Jacoby.

Reyes gave light heavyweight great Jon Jones one of the toughest fights of his career in February 2020 and lost via controversial unanimous decision. However, he could not keep the momentum on his side and has lost all three of his most recent fights via knockout. The fight against Jacoby marks a crucial point in the 34-year-old's MMA career.

The event will feature notable fighters and rising contenders like Raul Rosas Jr., Julian Marquez, and Thiago Moises, among others.

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UFC Louisville: Everything you need to know

UFC Louisville will feature 14 fights in seven weight classes. The preliminary card will kick off at 10:30 pm ET / 7:30 pm PT. The main card will start at 1:30 am ET / 10:30 pm PT. Main event walkouts are expected to take place at 3:30 am ET /12:30 pm PT.

The event will be broadcast live on ESPN+. Those interested in watching will have to purchase a subscription for the platform. Fans in the UK can catch live action on TNT Sports. Prelims will start in the UK at 2:30 am GMT while the main card will kick off at 5:30 am GMT.

These are the fights you can expect to watch at UFC Louisville (subject to change):

Main Card

Middleweight - Jared Cannonier vs. Nassourdine Imavov

Light heavyweight - Dominick Reyes vs. Dustin Jacoby

Bantamweight - Raul Rosas Jr. vs. Ricky Turcios

Middleweight - Brunno Ferreira vs. Dustin Stoltzfus

Middleweight - Julian Marquez vs. Zachary Reece

Welterweight - Miguel Baeza vs. Punahele Soriano

Preliminary Card

Lightweight - Thiago Moises vs. L'udovit Klein

Welterweight - Charles Radtke vs. Carlos Prates

Women's Flyweight - Andrea Lee vs. Montana De La Rosa

Bantamweight - Brad Katona vs. Jesse Butler

Bantamweight - John Castaneda vs. Daniel Marcos

Women's strawweight - Eduarda Moura vs. Denise Gomes

Bantamweight - Cody Stamann vs. Taylor Lapilus

Women's strawweight - Rayanne dos Santos vs. Puja Tomar