UFC Fight Night Preview: Nassourdine Imavov favored in headliner

Field Level Media|published: Sat 8th June, 11:51 2024

Jun 10, 2023; Vancouver, BC, Canada; Nassourdine Imavov reacts after the match against Chris Curtis is declared no contest for unintentional head class during UFC 289 at Rogers Arena. Mandatory Credit: Sergei Belski-USA TODAY Sports

UFC Fight Night in Louisville, Ky., on Saturday night features a middleweight fight between Nassourdine Imavov and Jared Cannonier.

The main card begins at 8 p.m. ET at the KFC Yum! Center.

It is the second consecutive headline fight for the seventh-ranked Imavov (13-4), who beat Roman Dolidze in his main event debut in February. However, he faces his highest-ranked opponent yet in No. 4 Cannonier (17-6), who is seeking a second shot at the title.

Cannonier, 40, is 7-2 since dropping down from the heavyweight class, with his only defeats coming in a middleweight title fight against Israel Adesanya and against another former champion in Robert Whittaker. Cannonier also earned a split-decision against Sean Strickland.

Imavov lost to Strickland last year, but has since had a no-contest fight against Chris Curtis before earning a majority-decision win over Dolidze.

Imavov is the -120 favorite at BetMGM, where he has been backed by 63 percent of the money. However, Cannonier has drawn 61 percent of the total bets placed on the fight.

Other fights on the main card:

--Dominick Reyes (+200) vs. Dustin Jacoby (-250): Reyes (12-4) has dropped four consecutive fights since starting his career 12-0 and earning a title shot against Jon Jones. Jacoby (19-8-1) has also struggled of late, dropping three of his past four fights, including against Alonzo Menifield in December.

--Ricky Turcios (+185) vs. Raul Rosas Jr. (-225): This is the third scheduled fight between the two, who were originally slated to meet on Feb. 24 and then a week later after that fell through. However, Rosas Jr. (8-1) withdrew from the first fight due to illness and then was unable to make the second fight date work. Turcios enters at 13-3.

--Dustin Stoltzfus (+220) vs. Brunno Ferreira (-275): The Brazilian Ferreira (11-1) has won two of his first three UFC fights while Pennsylvania's Stoltzfus (15-5) has dropped four of his past six fights dating back to 2020.

--Julian Marquez (-145) vs. Zachary Reese (+120): This is a middleweight fight between the 9-4 Marquez, who has lost consecutive fights to stoppages, against the 6-1 Reese, who was knocked out by Cody Brundage in his UFC debut in December.

--Punahele Soriano (+165) vs. Miguel Baeza (-200): Baeza (10-3) steps into the octagon for the first time since being knocked out by Andre Fialho in Apeil 2022. Meanwhile, Soriano (9-4) has won just one of his past five fights.

--Field Level Media