Blockbuster middleweight main event announced for June 8's UFC Louisville fight card
The main event for UFC Louisville, which takes place inside the KFC Yum! Center, has officially been announced.
On June 8, the UFC will travel to Louisville, Kentucky, for a fight night event featuring 14 matchups. The event was nearly filled up except for the main event, which was confirmed by the promotion on Twitter earlier today.
In the middleweight division, number four-ranked Jared Cannonier looks to secure his third consecutive win against a top 15 opponent. To do so, 'The Killa Gorilla' must get through the No.8-ranked Nassourdine Imavov, who is coming off a majority decision win against Roman Dolidze.
The UFC announced Cannonier vs Imavov by saying this on Twitter:
"Our #UFCLouisville main event is OFFICIAL Jared Cannonier will face off against @Imavov1 on Saturday, June 8th!"
It's difficult to determine what's at stake between Jared Cannonier and Nassourdine Imavov. UFC middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis is expected to fight Israel Adesanya later this year.
Meanwhile, the next middleweight contender will likely be Robert Whittaker or Khamzat Chimaev, who are scheduled to meet on June 22 at UFC Saudi Arabia.
Therefore, Cannonier and Imavov probably aren't fighting for a title shot. With that said, an impressive win in the UFC Louisville main event could lead to a number-one contender matchup later this year.
Who else is fighting at UFC Louisville?
The UFC has not confirmed the co-main event for UFC Louisville.
Luckily, the main card has primarily been announced featuring the following matchups - Thiago Moises vs Ludovit Klein (lightweight), Punahele Soriano vs Miguel Baeza (welterweight), Raul Rosas Jr vs Ricky Turcios (bantamweight), and Dominick Reyes vs Dustin Jacoby (light heavyweight).
As for the preliminary portion, nine fights have been confirmed - Eduarda Moura vs Denise Gomes (women's strawweight), Julian Marquez vs Zach Reese (middleweight), Puja Tomar vs Rayanne Amanda (women's strawweight), Cody Stamann vs Taylor Lapilus (bantamweight).
Last but not least, Brad Katona vs Jesse Butler (bantamweight), Charles Radtke vs Carlos Prates (welterweight), Brunno Ferreira vs Dustin Stoltzfus (middleweight), Daniel Marcos vs John Castaneda (bantamweight), and Andrea Lee vs Montana De La Rosa (women's flyweight).