UFC Louisville Main Event Pick
UFC LOUISVILLE MAIN EVENT PICK – Returning to Louisville for the first time since their debut in the city back in March 2011, the UFC brings a solid 14-fight slate anchored by middleweight clash. Once again, it is refreshing to see the UFC slowly transitioning to a road schedule compared to settling for events in the UFC Apex.
Jared Cannonier looks to build upon a two-fight winning streak which started with a victory over eventual and now former champion, Sean Strickland.
Nassourdine Imavov wants to continue his momentum after a beatdown of Roman Dolidze earlier this year.
Can the ‘Killa Gorilla’ remind folks that he deserves to hold onto his top five ranking? Or will the Frenchman notch the biggest win of his UFC career and vault himself into title contention? Read on to see how these styles match up and who we should back with our money.
Hey, while you’re at it, click here to check out our Godzilla Wins Daily Staff Picks! 
Jared Cannonier
Entering the UFC as an undefeated heavyweight in 2015, Cannonier went 1-1 at the weight class. He then turned his sights to the light heavyweight class and went 2-3.
The best decision he made was to drop to another weight class, entering the best physical shape we had ever seen him in. Going to middleweight has allowed Cannonier to put together a respectable 7-2 record where he earned a title shot and came up short against former champion, Israel Adesanya.
His only other loss in this run was to another former champion, Robert Whittaker, in a fight that he broke a bone in his arm in the opening minute of the fight. That did not stop him from going the entire 15 minutes and having glimpses of success even while restrained by the injury.
Riding a two-fight winning streak, Cannonier has showcased that he is still capable of high-level performances, even at 40 years old. Explosive and powerful strikes always keep his opponents a little muzzled, but it’s been his ability to mix in the rest of his game that makes him so successful.
He can lean on takedowns when he needs to, and he does a great job of managing his gas tank to go a hard 25 if need be. He had a close fight with Sean Strickland to end of 2022 in a fight that seemed to come down to volume vs damage, judges opting to lean on the damage to give Cannonier the win.
I saw someone tweet earlier this week that Cannonier may be the third best middleweight of the present generation and he can continue to prove that this weekend if he can get another win.
Nassourdine Imavov
After lackluster performances through his first two fights with the UFC, there weren’t many people that gave Imavov a second thought. I am guilty of writing him off as I faded him heavily against Ian Heinisch, which is when he produced probably his most dominant performance to date.
That win against Heinisch started a 4-1 run that Imavov now finds himself on, recently pummeling Roman Dolidze over 25 minutes to earn his first main event victory. His only loss during this run is to former champion, Sean Strickland.
Imavov fights exactly as his nickname “Sniper” suggests. He loves to implement his distance striking style with straight shots down the pipe and great kicks.
Although he has been unable to secure a submission in the UFC yet, he does have a sneaky front choke series to cause his opponents issues if they start diving on legs.
When he gets into his groove and lets his combinations go, he is difficult to deal with. A lot of his success has to do with him dictating the pace, as we’ve seen when fighters can take that from him, he starts to slow down in deep water. However, we saw even against a reckless and aggressive striker like Dolidze, he could snatch the tempo of a fight and be dominant.
The Pick
It doesn’t surprise me to see Imavov as a slight favorite. Afterall he is still in his 20s while Cannonier just cracked 40 earlier this year. With that said, I feel the experience and stylistic clash will allow Cannonier to get off on better shots, not allowing Imavov to get into a groove.
I think Cannonier can take control of the pace of this fight and even switch it up on Imavov to take this fight to the ground to wear on him. I don’t see any signs of Cannonier slowing down yet, though this fight could be a sign of it. However, if Cannonier can avoid the early finishing threat of Imavov, he can hack away at Imavov and drown him in deep water. At underdog odds, I’m more than happy to take a shot on Cannonier here.
