Nassourdine Imavov Calls Out Sean Strickland After Win over Jared Cannonier

Nassourdine Imavov proved that he belongs near the top of the rankings in the UFC’s middleweight division. Matched up with a powerful striker in Jared Cannonier Saturday night at the Yum! Center in Louisville, Kentucky, the French striker felt right at home. While Imavov had to deal with Cannonier trying to wear him out with grappling, the French star never gave up on his game plan.

Imavov wanted to lean on his speed and striking to put Cannonier, 39, on his back foot. The older man ended up in big trouble in the fourth round. Imavov landed an extended combination that saw Cannonier retreat toward the cage several times.

Cannonier’s poor body language stopped the fight midway through the fourth round. Imavov became the first middleweight to knock out Cannonier, who is a former title challenger in the division. Imavov is hoping to be on the same trajectory.

Imavov called out a former champion, Sean Strickland, for his next fight, according to MMAfighting latest news.

“My goal is to get the belt for me, my family, and everyone around me,” Imavov said through a translator. “I would like to fight Sean Strickland in Paris. Sean Strickland, if you want to do it, come to Paris, and we’re going to fight together.”

The main card made up for a slow night in the preliminary fights. Eight of the first nine fights went to a decision, which continued a troubling trend at UFC 302 last week. However, the main card ended with five straight finishes to excite the crowd.

Reyes Picks Up First Win in Five Years

Three straight knockout losses and two years away from the octagon had many people thinking Dominick Reyes would be better off staying away from the sport. However, the best MMA sites show that the former light heavyweight title challenger turned in a vintage performance against Dustin Jacoby.

Jacoby’s fatal mistake was thinking Reyes didn’t have anything left. Early in the first round, Jacoby had Reyes’ back on the cage and blitzed forward recklessly. Reyes would stumble Jacoby with a straight shot, then sit him down with a hard knee.

As Jacoby tried to work back to his feet, Reyes continued to fire off hellacious punches. One of those shots put Jacoby out on his feet, and the momentum from the strikes forced him to faceplant the ground. For one night, at least, Reyes’ career is back on track.

This was Reyes’ first win in the UFC since he knocked former middleweight champion Chris Weidman on Oct. 18, 2019 according to MMA latest updates.

Rosas Submits Ricky

The worst thing that has happened to Ricky Turcios may have been what happened in the first round of his fight with Raul Rosas Jr. Rosas, a grappling specialist, had taken Turcios down. But Turcios scrambled and ended up on Rosas’ back.

Turcios attempted to lock up a rear-naked choke but could only get the squeeze on his jaw. In the second round, Turcios was more willing to engage in grappling. But that was a mistake against Rosas. 

He welcomed the chance to be on the mat and locked up a rear-naked choke to pick up his third win in the UFC.

Second Round? No Thank You

Brunno Ferreira looked exhausted at the end of his fight against Dustin Stoltzfus. Ferreira earned a knockout win when threw a wild spinning elbow at Stoltzfus with nine seconds left in the first round. It has become part of the Brazilian’s reputation since he turned professional.

Ferreira has seen his last seven fights end in the first round. There was concern for his stamina going into the second round, but Ferreira made sure the fight didn’t get there. It was the ninth spinning elbow knockout in the promotion’s history according to MMA breaking news.

Reese Doesn’t Waste Any Time 

Zachary Reese took half a year to stew over his loss to Cody Brundage during his UFC debut. After taking a loss in rare fashion by slam knockout, Reese was determined to put the pressure on Julian Marquez from the outset of the fight.

Reese’s accurate striking made his second fight in the UFC a quick one. After landing a kick, Reese landed a stiff shot that put Marquez on his butt on the canvas. He followed up with several shots while Marquez was on his back, forcing the referee to step in and halt the fight just 20 seconds in.

Baeza Takes Sustained Beating

Miguel Baeza had an ugly night at the office. Baeza was the betting favorite against Punahele Soriano but ended up taking a sustained beating. Soriano controlled the fight with his wrestling, scoring three takedowns.

Once the fight got down to the ground, Soriano didn’t just lay on top. He put three rounds of sustained ground and pound on Baeza. The fight likely could have been stopped several times. Soriano finished with a 144-7 edge in significant strikes to pick up a unanimous decision.

Prates Supercharges the Crowd

Carlos Prates didn’t even pursue a follow-up shot. Prates landed a hard knee on Charles Radtke in the first round that knocked all of the air out of his body with 13 seconds left in the fight. Prates had set it up early in the round. 

Prates had thrown a few knees and other shots to the body to try and soften up Radtke. While Radtke had his moments on the feet, he was clearly behind Prates in quality.

Here’s a look at the other fights on the card not mentioned above:

• Lightweight, Ludovit Klein win by decision over Thiago Moisés, 30-27 (x3)
• Bantamweight, Brad Katona win by decision over Jesse Butler, 30-26, 30-27 (x2)
• Women’s flyweight, Montana De La Rosa win by split decision over Andrea Lee, De La Rosa 29-28 (x2), Lee 29-28
• Bantamweight, Daniel Marcos win by decision over John Castañeda, 30-27 (x3)
• Catchweight, Denise Gomes win by split decision over Eduarda Moura, Gomes 30-27 (x2), 29-28 Moura
• Bantamweight, Taylor Lapilus win by decision Cody Stamann win by decision, 30-27 (x3)
• Women’s strawweight, Puja Tomar win by split decision over Rayanne dos Santos, Tomar 30-27, 29-28; dos Santos 29-28

Find all the latest boxing news and MMA breaking updates on boxingnews.com.

By Dean McHugh.