UFC Louisville: Jared Cannonier vs. Nassourdine Imavov continues on the main card with the main event fight in the middleweight division between Jared Cannonier and Nassourdine Imavov. Cannonier comes into this main event fight off of back-to-back wins as he makes his first appearance of 2024 after a year layoff meanwhile, Imavov is coming off a majority decision victory in his last fight as he comes into his third main event this weekend. With that said, check out our UFC odds series for our Cannonier-Imavov prediction and pick.
Jared Cannonier (17-6) suffered a torn MCL as he was preparing for a matchup with Roman Dolidze back in December 2023 which has held him out of competition. Now fully healthy, Cannonier will be looking to get back into the Octagon and pick up where he left off, and extend his winning streak to three in a row when he takes on the surging Nassourdine Imavov this weekend at UFC Louisville.
Nassourdine Imavov (13-4) is coming off his best win yet when he dominated Roman Dolidze to a majority decision victory in a main event spot back in February. Now, Imavov will be looking for his biggest win yet when he takes on former title challenger Jared Cannonier in this weekend's main event at UFC Louisville.
Here are the UFC Louisville Odds, courtesy of BetOnline.
UFC Louisville Odds: Jared Cannonier-Nassourdine Imavov Odds
Jared Cannonier: +105
Nassourdine Imavov: -125
Over 4.5 rounds: -160
Under 4.5 rounds: +130
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Why Jared Cannonier Will Win
Jared Cannonier has been a force in the middleweight division ever since dropping down in weight. He is now 7-2 at 185 lbs with losses to only former middleweight champions Israel Adesanya and Robert Whittaker whom he fought to a decision against both. With wins in four out of his last five fights, Cannonier will look to put his name back into the mix for title contention when he takes on France's Nassourdine Imavov this weekend.
Cannonier is as dangerous as they come at 185 lbs. Of his 17 victories, nine of them have come by knockout with six of those knockouts coming in his 10 victories inside the Octagon. He is also exceptionally well-rounded where he can take his opponents to the mat and dominate them with vicious ground-and-pound or utilize his grappling to keep the fight on his feet where he can land his heavy strikes in hopes of landing the knockout blow. In this matchup against Imavov, Cannonier is going to need to do a good job at being the aggressor and keeping Imavov on his bike the entire fight as well as cutting off the cage to land his strikes. If Cannonier can keep the pressure on and not allow Imavov to dictate where the fight takes place he can extend his winning streak to three in a row this weekend.
Why Nassourdine Imavov Will Win
Nassourdine Imavov was looking like a breakout candidate until he met up with Sean Strickland in his first-ever main event spot. Unfortunately, Imavov succumbed to the pressure of Strickland as many have done before him. Since that loss, Imavov was able to get back into the win column most recently dominating Roman Dolidze after an unfortunate No Contest in a fight against Chris Curtis a fight before that. Imavov will be looking to get the biggest victory of his career when he takes on former title challenger Jared Cannonier this weekend at UFC Louisville.
Imavov is a great striker and fights like the middleweight version of his training partner Ciryl Gane. He uses a ton of movement on the feet with a heavy dose of kicks to keep his opponents at the end of his strikes. That game plan is going to come in handy against a pressure fighter like Jared Cannonier. Imavov will need to pick Cannonier apart as he looks to press forward and land his heavy strikes. As long as Imavov can use his lateral movement to keep his back off the cage he has a great chance to do what he did against Dolidze and that was just to pick him apart at range and get a big victory as he rises up the middleweight rankings.
Final Jared Cannonier-Nassourdine Imavov Prediction & Pick
This is a fantastic main-event fight between these two surging middleweight contenders. Cannoniers will need to take a page out of Sean Strickland's playbook and keep the pressure on Imavov for the full 25 minutes, meanwhile, Imavov is going to need to replicate what he did against Dolidze where he used his speed and movement to pick Cannonier apart at range. Being as this fight is going to be fought in a 30-foot Octagon gives Imavov that much more room for him to operate in space and as long as he doesn't let Cannonier just walk him down this should be a similar outcome as the Dolidze fight. With Cannonier just being a year removed from having surgery for a torn MCL expect him to have trouble with the speed and movement of Imavov as he picks him apart for a decision victory.
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Final Jared Cannonier-Nassourdine Imavov Prediction & Pick: Nassourdine Imavov (-125), Over 4.5 Rounds (-160)
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