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The UFC is set to visit Louisville, Kentucky this weekend for its latest Fight Night. The event marks the first trip to Louisville in over a decade.
UFC Fight Night: Jared Cannonier vs. Nassourdine Imavov features a strong middleweight headliner, and a number of fun-sounding bouts up and down the card.
Is the event as loaded as a major pay-per-view? Of course not, but it should hopefully still produce plenty of action.
Here are the predicted outcomes for UFC Fight Night: Jared Cannonier vs. Nassourdine Imavov.
#1. UFC middleweight bout: Jared Cannonier vs. Nassourdine Imavov
It isn't a huge main event from a name value perspective, but any bout pitting the No.4 middleweight in the world against No.8 is definitely worth checking out.
Of the two men, Jared Cannonier is currently ranked the higher. 'The Killa Gorilla' has floated around near the top of the middleweight division since moving to 185 pounds in 2018, and he's gotten closer than most to the summit.
Cannonier holds wins over Anderson Silva, Sean Strickland, Jack Hermansson and Marvin Vettori, and his only losses have come to Israel Adesanya and Robert Whittaker.
Essentially, 'The Killa Gorilla' is a straightforward kind of fighter. He's got insane power in his hands, and his strong wrestling allows him to take his foes down and batter them on the ground with punches.
Cannonier is not just a wild swinger, though. He's also shown enough technical ability to beat the likes of Strickland on the feet, although the fact that even a glancing blow from him can do such damage has helped.
Nassourdine Imavov hasn't quite reached the same heights, although he's proven himself to be very dangerous in his own right.
'The Sniper' is an excellent striker who packs plenty of power, and he's won five of his octagon bouts to date, most recently picking apart Roman Dolidze over five rounds.
The worrying thing here for the Frenchman is the fact that he does have a mutual foe with Cannonier in the form of Strickland. Where 'Tarzan' largely picked Imavov apart, he struggled with the lengthy reach and power of Cannonier, something that could prove to be an issue for 'The Sniper' this weekend.
One x factor could be the age of Cannonier. At 40, he should, theoretically at least, be past his physical prime. However, there's been no evidence of Father Time catching up with him yet, even if he hasn't fought in nearly a year.
It's unlikely that Cannonier will stop Imavov, who has never been TKO'd during his career. However, the most likely outcome, assuming 'The Killa Gorilla' hasn't aged overnight, is a clear-cut win for him via decision.
The Pick: Cannonier via decision
#2. UFC light-heavyweight bout: Dominick Reyes vs. Dustin Jacoby
This event's co-headliner won't have any title implications, but it's a big one because it could see the end of Dominick Reyes' UFC run, something that would've seemed improbable a couple of years back.
'The Devastator' was once considered the hottest fighter in the entire 205 pound division. He burst onto the scene back in 2017 with a series of quick wins, and looked like he had all the tools needed to reach the top.
An aggressive, confident striker with skills in all areas, Reyes defeated his first six foes, including Chris Weidman, Volkan Oezdemir and Ovince St. Preux, to set up a title shot against Jon Jones in 2020.
The fight proved to be controversial. Many fans believed Reyes deserved the nod, only for Jones to instead receive a tight decision win. When 'Bones' then vacated his title, 'The Devastator' was widely expected to claim it.
Unfortunately, he suffered a shocking KO loss to Jan Blachowicz in that title fight, and hasn't been the same since. He has now lost his last four fights, three via KO, and hasn't fought since 2022.
The good news for him is that he's still only 34 years old and has time to turn things around. The bad news is that his chin might be cracked for good.
What of his opponent here, Dustin Jacoby? After washing out of his initial UFC run back in 2012, he reinvented himself as a high-level kickboxer with GLORY, and it's largely been upwards since.
'The Hanyak' returned to the octagon in 2020, and has since won seven of his next eleven fights, with his only losses coming in tight bouts to Khalil Rountree, Azamat Murzakanov and Alonzo Menifield.
Jacoby can be outstruck, but it's difficult for anyone to open up against him due to his countering abilities. Worryingly for Reyes, he'll also be at a reach disadvantage here, something that tended to be rare for him on his way up.
Even at his peak, this would've been a stylistically difficult fight for 'The Devastator', but back in 2019, say, he'd have been expected to find a way to win.
Now, though, with no wins since then and three consecutive knockouts, it's hard to imagine him being able to find a way to pressure Jacoby without eating something nasty in return. Essentially, this should be the end for him.
The Pick: Jacoby via first round knockout
#3. UFC Fight Night: The Main Card
In a bantamweight clash, Raul Rosas Jr takes on Ricky Turcios. Already cancelled twice this year, with any hope, these two fighters finally face off in the octagon this weekend.
Of the two, Rosas Jr has more hype around him. Still only 19 years old, 'El Nino Problema' looked phenomenal in his win over Terrence Mitchell last September. Given his young age and his massive talent, it's likely he'll have improved further since, too.
Turcios, on the other hand, won TUF 29 back in 2021, but despite winning two of his three octagon bouts, doesn't have much fanfare around him. That's probably because he isn't the best finisher, and isn't naturally threatening.
With all things considered, this should be a good fight for Rosas Jr, particularly given the striking improvements he showed in his last fight. If he can hurt Turcios and get him down early, he could pick up a strong finish, too. The pick is Rosas Jr via submission.
In a middleweight bout, Brunno Ferreira faces Dustin Stoltzfus. In all honesty, this one almost feels like a set-up for Ferreira, who has heavy hands and a lot of potential.
'The Hulk' was upset by Nursulton Ruziboev last year, but holds knockout wins over Phil Hawes and Gregory Rodrigues, two dangerous fighters in their own right. We don't know that much about the Brazilian, but he's clearly an aggressive striker with finishing skills.
Stoltzfus, on the other hand, has only won two of his six octagon appearances, and the last time he faced a dangerous striker, he lost to Abus Nurmagomedov in just 19 seconds. With that in mind, the pick here is Ferreira via knockout.
Another middleweight tilt sees Julian Marquez face off with Zachary Reese. Marquez was once seen as a hot prospect, but 'The Cuban Missile Crisis' has slipped in recent years, suffering two losses in a row, both via knockout.
Can he bounce back here? It's almost certain. Reese has appeared just once in the UFC before, suffering a bad TKO loss to Cody Brundage. His record is relatively thin and while he's won his other six fights, he's never faced anyone close to Marquez's level.
The pick, then, is Marquez via submission.
Finally, in a welterweight clash, Miguel Baeza takes on Punahele Soriano. Another prospect who has slipped down the ladder, Baeza was once a 10-0 fighter shooting up the ranks. Unfortunately, 'Caramel Thunder' has now lost his last three and may be fighting for his roster spot here.
Can he pick up the win to save himself? At his best, he should probably be able to. He's a more well-rounded fighter than Soriano, who has shown little more than brutal power punching in his five-year octagon career.
However, worryingly for Baeza, he's fallen prey to two power-punchers in his last two fights, and it's likely that one touch from Soriano could see him go down again. Given Baeza's recent form, it's impossible to trust him, despite his talent. The pick is Soriano via KO.
#4. UFC Fight Night: The Prelims
Picks in bold
UFC lightweight bout: Thiago Moises vs. Ludovit Klein
UFC welterweight bout: Charles Radtke vs. Carlos Prates
UFC flyweight bout: Andrea Lee vs. Montana de la Rosa
UFC bantamweight bout: Brad Katona vs. Jesse Butler
UFC bantamweight bout: John Castaneda vs. Daniel Marcos
UFC strawweight bout: Eduarda Moura vs. Denise Gomes
UFC bantamweight bout: Cody Stamann vs. Taylor Lapilus
UFC strawweight bout: Rayanne dos Santos vs. Puja Tomar
