The UFC returns to Louisville for UFC Fight Night with a middleweight clash between two contenders in the division, number 4 ranked former title contender Jared Cannonier and number 7 ranked Frenchman Nassourdine Imavov. Winner of this bout could be potentially one fight away from a title fight in the near future.

Jared Cannonier is currently on a two fight winning streak defeating Marvin Vettori and former UFC Middleweight champion Sean Strickland since Cannonier lost to then champion Israel Adesanya at UFC 276. He hasn’t been the most active fighter in the last year which is usually the opposite when describing the 17-6 former contender due to him suffering a torn MCL in practice which kept him off the shelves for almost a year. Jared Cannonier is looking to keep onto winning ways and prove he has the ability to push for one more title run before the end of his amazing career.

Nassourdine Imavov is stepping into the octagon after his fairly recent clash against Roman Dolidze in February of this year which he came out on top of the clash where Imavov won Dolidze via majority decision. Imavov previously dealt with the duo of Strickland and Curtis in his previous fights so Imavov has proven even though he came up short against Strickland, that he can hang with some of the best strikers in the division and knows how to manoever them for his advantage.

Betting odds currently have Nassourdine Imavov a slight favourite in this contest at -125 and have Cannonier the ever so slight underdog at +105. This makes sense with how close and how well matched these two fighters are against each other.

Prediction – Cannonier via Decision

I believe that the experience of Jared Cannonier will pull through and he will secure the victory against Nassourdine Imavov with the help of the judges scorecards. Cannonier has great technical striking as well as great power in his hands which I feel will be a problem for Imavov. Cannonier has also displayed good takedown defence in his previous contests which I feel will help him in this fight.

Also on this card, Dominick Reyes makes his return to the octagon as he goes up against Dustin Jacoby. Another bout featured on the main card involves the youngest fighter in the UFC, Raul Rojas Jr as he takes on UFC Ultimate Fighter winner Ricky Turcios. This is the second time this fight was booked after Rojas Jr pulled out of the fight with an illness the night of the fight in February. This is looking like a great fight night card for the fans in Louisville which they will enjoy and we will enjoy at home.