UFC Louisville: Jared Cannonier vs. Nassourdine Imavov: Full results
The UFC Louisville event just wrapped up. It took place at the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Kentucky, on June 8 and marked the promotion's second-ever visit to the city.
In the main event, No.4-ranked middleweight contender Jared Cannonier fought No.7-ranked Nassourdine Imavov. Since losing the title fight against former champion Israel Adesanya, Cannonier had amassed two impressive wins over elite middleweights Sean Strickland and Marvin Vettori.
Meanwhile, Imavov was attempting to score his second win after defeating Roman Dolidze on Feb. 3. Despite being a consistent performer, Imavov had fallen short in his previous attempt to elevate his position in rankings after taking a step up in competition against Strickland.
This time, Imavov appeared to be well prepared to fight the higher-ranked opponent. But Cannonier put together an effective game plan, attacking Imavov's lead leg with chopping calf kicks and displaying better control in grappling exchanges against the cage.
The 40-year-old fought at various ranges as Imavov struggled to offer meaningful offense through the first two rounds. But the complexion started changing towards the end of Round 2 when Imavov figured out the timing of Cannonier's leg kicks, firing out effective counters every time 'The Killa Gorilla' attempted them.
As the fight appeared to have set into a fixed rhythm, a heavy check hook from Imavov wobbled Cannonier in Round 4. Imavov patiently followed Cannonier with stinging shots as the American tried to escape and survive. However, the referee stepped in to stop the action. Imavov was declared the winner by TKO.
In the co-headlining bout, former light heavyweight title challenger and No.15-ranked contender Dominick Reyes fought Dustin Jacoby. Both men had been struggling to find a footing in the division heading into the fight with a combined record of 1-7 in their eight most recent fights and were in desperate need of a win.
In the fight, Reyes took a more measured approach and assumed the role of a counter striker. After hurting a charging Jacoby with a clean left hook counter against the cage, Reyes followed up with a barrage of punches and dropped him with a knee to the body. The referee intervened to stop Jacoby from absorbing unnecessary punishment.
The Round 1 KO win marked the first victory in Reyes' professional MMA career since he knocked Chris Weidman out in October 2019.
Rising prospect Raul Rosas Jr. returned to action against Ricky Turcios on the main card. A competitive Round 1 saw both men have their moments. Rosas Jr. responded fiercely to Turcios's furious pace and did his best work on the ground, winning the fight by second-round submission due to a rear-naked choke.
UFC Louisville Results: Brunno Ferreira and Zachary Reese score big wins
In a middleweight bout on the main card, Brazil's Brunno Ferreira took on Dustin Stoltzfus in an attempt to get his second straight win since suffering the only loss of his professional MMA career against Nursultan Ruziboev.
A grappler by trade, Stoltzfus tried to take the fight to the ground and enjoyed a degree of success with submission attempts and ground control. However, he struggled to match the ferocity in the stand-up and was knocked out toward the end of Round 1 after getting hurt several times on the feet.
Elsewhere on the main card, Zachary Reese impressively defeated Julian Marquez. A body kick from Reese backed up Marquez in the opening seconds and he went crashing down to the canvas after a left hook and right uppercut combo. The referee stopped the action after a few follow-up strikes at the 20-second mark of Round 1.
The main card opening bout saw Punahele Soriano dominate Miguel Baeza for three rounds to walk away with a convincing unanimous decision victory.
Lightweight contender Thiago Moises fought Slovakia's Ludovit Klein in the headlining bout on the UFC Louisville preliminary card. Klein displayed better striking and grappling en route to a unanimous decision win, extending his UFC unbeaten streak to six.
Brazil's Carlos Prates secured his second-straight knockout win under the promotion's umbrella with a walk-off body kick knockout of Charles Radtke. Meanwhile, Conor McGregor's teammate Brad Katona fought Jesse Butler on the prelims, securing a dominant unanimous decision victory.
Check out the full event results below:
Main Card
Middleweight - Nassourdine Imavov def. Jared Cannonier via T/KO (R4, 1:34)
Light heavyweight - Dominick Reyes def. Dustin Jacoby via T/KO (R1, 2:00)
Bantamweight - Raul Rosas Jr. def. Ricky Turcios via submission (Rear-naked choke) (R2, 2:22)
Middleweight - Brunno Ferreira def. Dustin Stoltzfus via T/KO (R1, 4:51)
Middleweight - Zachary Reese def. Julian Marquez via T/KO (R1, 0:20)
Welterweight - Punahele Soriano def. Miguel Baeza via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-25 X 2)
Preliminary Card
Lightweight - Ludovit Klein def. Thiago Moises via unanimous decision (30-27 X 3)
Welterweight - Carlos Prates def. Charles Radtke via TKO (R1, 4:47)
Bantamweight - Brad Katona def. Jesse Butler via unanimous decision (30-27 X 2, 30-26)
Women's flyweight - Montana De La Rosa def. Andrea Lee via split decision (29-28 X 2, 28-29)
Bantamweight -Daniel Marcos def. John Castaneda via split decision (30-27 X 3)
Women's strawweight - Denise Gomes def. Eduarda Moura via split decision (30-27 X 2, 28-29) (Moura missed weight)
Bantamweight - Taylor Lapilus def. Cody Stamann via unanimous decision (30-27 X 3)
Women's strawweight - Puja Tomar def. Rayanne dos Santos via split decision (30-27, 29-28, 27-30)