Imavov claims controversial win over Cannonier

Nassourdine Imavov claimed a controversial fourth-round TKO win over Jared Cannonier in the middleweight main event of a UFC Fight Night at the KFC Yum! Centre in Louisville, Kentucky, on the morning of Sunday 9 June 2024.

Imavov handed Cannonier his first stoppage loss in 10 middleweight fights, though many will feel ‘Tha Killa Gorilla’ was hard done by when referee Jason Herzog intervened to end the fight at 1:34 in the penultimate round.

Imavov caught Cannonier with a brutal one-two, before swarming with multiple straight rights, left hooks and knees during a 20-second blitz – yet Cannonier was defending himself. The fight had been a competitive back-and-forth through the first three rounds, and looked set to go the full distance between two tough opponents.

HE GETS IT DONE IN THE FOURTH 💥@Imavov1 gets the TKO to finish things at #UFCLouisville pic.twitter.com/2pXmJhKKIc

— UFC (@ufc) June 9, 2024

“I was ready to continue the fight if the fight was willing to continue. That's the referee's job, it's what the referee does on a daily basis," Imavov said through an interpreter during his post-fight interview. "So I think he made the right decision but I was ready to keep going.”

The Frenchman has now set his sights on former division champion Sean Strickland: “My goal is to get the belt and I'd like to fight Sean Strickland in Paris [in September]," Imavov said, looking to avenge a short-notice loss to Strickland in 2023.

The rest of the main card featured a KO win for Dominick Reyes over Dustin Jacoby in the first round of their light heavyweight match; Raul Rosas Jr submitted Ricky Turcios in the bantamweight class; Bruno Ferreira had a spectacular spinning back elbow knockout of Dustin Stoltzfus in the middleweight division; Zachary Reece needed just 20 seconds to stop fellow middleweight Julian Marquez; and the welterweight opener brought a unanimous decision win for Punahele Soriano over Miguel Baeza.

The UFC continues next week with a Fight Night at the APEX Facility in Las Vegas on the morning of Sunday 16 June, headlined by a flyweight fight between Alex Perez and Tatsuro Taira.

UFC Fight Night: Cannonier v Imavov – Main card results

- Main event: Middleweight: Nassourdine Imavov def. Jared Cannonier via TKO (punches) R4, 1:34

- Light heavyweight: Dominick Reyes def. Dustin Jacoby via KO (punches), R1, 2:00

- Bantamweight: Raul Rosas Jr def. Ricky Turcios via submission (rear-naked choke), R2, 2:22

- Middleweight: Bruno Ferreira def. Dustin Stoltzfus via KO (spinning back elbow), R1, 4:51

- Middleweight: Zachary Reece def. Julian Marquez via TKO (body kick & punches), R1, 0:20

- Welterweight: Punahele Soriano def. Miguel Baeza via unanimous decision (30-25 30-25 30-27), R3, 5:00