Tag: Nassourdine Imavov

Israel Adesanya vs. Nassourdine Imavov: Odds and what to know ahead of UFC Saudi Arabia main event

Israel Adesanya is only moderately favored to rebound from a two-fight skid at UFC Saudi Arabia.

[autotag]Israel Adesanya[/autotag] will look to rebound when he takes on rising middleweight contender [autotag]Nassourdine Imavov[/autotag] in the UFC Fight Night 250 main event.

Israel Adesanya vs. Nassourdine Imavov preview

Former champion Adesanya (24-4 MMA, 13-4 UFC) is coming off a title loss to middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 305 in August, marking his second consecutive defeat. “The Last Stylebender” will compete in his first non-title fight since February 2019.

Meanwhile, Imavov (15-4 MMA, 7-2 UFC) has won three in a row, most recently snapping Brendan Allen’s seven-fight winning streak this past September at UFC Fight Night 243.

Israel Adesanya vs. Nassourdine Imavov odds

According to DraftKings, Adesanya is a moderate -185 favorite over Imavov, who’s listed as a +154 underdog.

How to watch Israel Adesanya vs. Nassourdine Imavov at UFC Saudi Arabia

  • When: Saturday, February 1, 2025
  • Where: ANB Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
  • Broadcast/streaming: ESPN+

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 250.

Israel Adesanya headlines UFC Saudi Arabia vs. Nassourdine Imavov

Former UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya is back.

UFC star [autotag]Israel Adesanya[/autotag] finds himself he hasn’t been in for almost six years.

On Feb. 1, Adesanya (24-4 MMA, 13-4 UFC) will compete in his first non-title bout since February 2019 when he headlines a UFC Fight Night 250 card vs. [autotag]Nassourdine Imavov[/autotag] (15-4 MMA, 7-2 UFC). The card takes place at ANB Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (ESPN+).

UFC CEO Dana White announced the headliner on Saturday. The bout was first reported by Knockout Alerts.

Adesanya, 35, aims to snap the first multi-loss skid of his MMA career. After his upset unanimous decision loss to Sean Strickland in September 2023. He then challenged rival Dricus Du Plessis for gold in August and was submitted in Round 4.

Imavov, 28, has slowly but surely climbed the middleweight ladder since his debut in October 2020. He rides a three-fight winning streak into the most high-profile fight of his career. That streak is comprised of victories over Roman Dolidze, Jared Cannonier, and Brendan Allen.

With the addition, the UFC Fight Night 250 lineup includes:

  • Israel Adesanya vs. Nassourdine Imavov
  • Shara Magomedov vs. Michael Page
  • Sergei Pavlovich vs. Jairzinho Rozenstruik
  • Ikram Aliskerov vs. Andre Muniz
  • Said Nurmagomedov vs. Vinicius Oliveira
  • Damir Hadzovic vs. Terrance McKinney
  • Abdul-Kareem Al-Selwady vs. Jordan Leavitt
  • Lucas Alexander vs. Bogdan Grad
  • Muhammad Naimov vs. Kaan Ofli
  • Hamdy Abdelwahab vs. Jamal Pogues
  • Mayra Bueno Silva vs. Jasmine Jasudavicius
  • Shamil Gaziev vs. Thomas Petersen

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Saudi Arabia.

UFC Fight Night 243 Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay: Renato Moicano’s $16,000 among top earners

UFC Fight Night 243 fighters took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay, a program that continued after the UFC’s deal with Venum.

Fighters from Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 243 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $173,500.

The program, a comprehensive plan that includes outfitting requirements, media obligations and other items under the fighter code of conduct, replaces the previous payments made under the UFC Athlete Outfitting Policy.

UFC Fight Night 243 took place at Accor Arena in Paris. The entire card streamed on ESPN+.

The full UFC Fight Night 243 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:

* * * *

[autotag]Renato Moicano[/autotag]: $16,000
def. [autotag]Benoit Saint Denis[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Nassourdine Imavov[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Brendan Allen[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]William Gomis[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Joanderson Brito[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Bryan Battle[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Kevin Jousset[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Morgan Charriere[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Gabriel Miranda[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Fares Ziam[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Matt Frevola[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Ion Cutelaba[/autotag]: $16,000
def. [autotag]Ivan Erslan[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Oumar Sy[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Da Woon Jung[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Ludovit Klein[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Roosevelt Roberts[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Ailin Perez[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Darya Zheleznyakova[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Taylor Lapilus[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Vince Morales[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Daniel Barez[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Victor Altamirano[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Jacqueline Cavalcanti[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Nora Cornolle[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Chris Duncan[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Bolaji Oki[/autotag]: $4,000

Under the UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance program’s payout tiers, which appropriate the money generated by Venum’s multi-year sponsorship with the UFC, fighters are paid based on their total number of UFC bouts, as well as Zuffa-era WEC fights (January 2007 and later) and Zuffa-era Strikeforce bouts (April 2431 and later). Fighters with 1-3 bouts receive $4,000 per appearance; 4-5 bouts get $4,500; 6-10 bouts get $6,000; 11-15 bouts earn $11,000; 16-20 bouts pocket $16,000; and 21 bouts and more get $21,000. Additionally, champions earn $42,000 while title challengers get $32,000.

In addition to experience-based pay, UFC fighters will receive in perpetuity royalty payments amounting to 20-30 percent of any UFC merchandise sold that bears their likeness, according to officials.

Full 2024 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts:

Year-to-date total: $5,895,000
2023 total: $8,188,000
2022 total: $8,351,500
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $28,632,000

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 243.

UFC Paris winner Nassourdine Imavov: Rematching Sean Strickland ‘even more exciting than the belt’

Nassourdine Imavov thinks he’s done enough to earn a title shot, but there’s one fight he’d prioritize.

[autotag]Nassourdine Imavov[/autotag] thinks he’s done enough to earn a title shot, but there’s one fight he’d prioritize.

Imavov (15-4 MMA, 7-2 UFC) stifled Brendan Allen’s (24-6 MMA, 12-3 UFC) grappling en route to a unanimous decision win in Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 243 co-main event at Accor Arena.

“Of course, the following is going to be to fight for the belt, but if the belt is not here, I want to keep being busy, and I want to fight anyone in front of me in the rankings,” Imavov said through an interpreter during the post-fight news conference.

If a title shot isn’t next for Imavov, he has his eyes on a rematch with Sean Strickland – the last fighter to beat him.

“Of course, it would be a great pleasure for me to do it,” Imavov said. “It’s even more exciting than the belt to fight against Strickland and to take my revenge.”

If Strickland ends up getting his title-fight rematch with champion Dricus Du Plessis, Imavov is happy to fight another former champion in Israel Adesanya.

“I’ve seen a lot of media talking about it,” Imavov said on Adesanya. “It would be a great pleasure to go against him, and I think it would be a great fight.”

Imavov was happy to beat Allen in his own game. Although he spent the entire Round 1 flat on his back, he wanted to prove his ground game is elite, too.

“I wanted to show that my BJJ brown belt that I got from MK Team is not nothing,” Imavov said. “It’s very important to me so, I wanted to show that my ground game is very good, and because I did a small mistake in the first round, he held me on the ground the whole round, I wanted to show my wrestling, grappling skills in the next two rounds.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 243.

UFC Fight Night 243 results: Nassourdine Imavov stifles Brendan Allen’s grappling, calls for title shot

After a rough start, Nassourdine Imavov was able to completely nullify Brendan Allen’s grappling game at UFC Paris.

After a rough start, [autotag]Nassourdine Imavov[/autotag] was able to completely nullify [autotag]Brendan Allen[/autotag]’s grappling game at UFC Fight Night 243.

Imavov (15-4 MMA, 7-2 UFC) outgrappled Allen (246 MMA, 12-3 UFC) en route to a unanimous decision win of 29-28 scorecards across the board. The middleweight bout was the co-main event at Accor Arena in Paris (via X):

Just 10 seconds into the fight, Allen was immediately able to slam Imavov down for a big takedown. He moved into side control, then half guard, riding the entire round in top position.

Imavov inadvertently poked Allen in the eye to start Round 2. When the action resumed, Allen shot for a takedown but he was stuffed by Imavov, who grabbed onto a front head lock. Imavov let go and decided to let Allen back up. The pair exchanged a few solid shots on the feet before Allen shot for another takedown. Imavov reversed and wound up in back control, raining down punches.

Imavov maintained position this time, as Allen started to make his way up. Imavov landed a big head kick on the break, followed by a flurry of punches. Imavov stuffed another Allen takedown and ended up in full mount, before transitioning to the back. Imavov attempted a takedown but wound up on his back before the round ended.

With each fighter winning a round, Allen’s corner showed a sense of urgency. Allen shot a takedown, but was stuffed. Imavov wound up in top control again, and dropped some big ground and pound. Allen continued to pursue the takedown, but was reversed once again. The fight ended with both fighters swinging.

Winner of four in a row now, Imavov called for a title shot. Imavov hasn’t lost since a decision loss to ex-champ Sean Strickland at light heavyweight in January 2023.

Up-to-the-minute UFC Fight Night 243 results include:

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 243.

UFC Fight Night 243: Nassourdine Imavov vs. Brendan Allen odds, picks and predictions

Analyzing Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 243 odds between Nassourdine Imavov vs. Brendan Allen, with MMA picks and predictions.

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In a 3-round middleweight bout on the main card, Nassourdine Imavov and Brendan Allen meet at UFC Fight Night 243 Saturday at Accor Arena in Paris, France. Let’s analyze BetMGM Sportsbook’s UFC odds around the UFC Fight Night 243: Imavov vs. Allen odds, and make our expert picks and predictions.

The prelims begin at noon ET on ESPN+, and the main card begins at 3 p.m. ET, also on ESPN+.

Records: Imavov (14-4-0) | Allen (24-5-0)

Imavov has picked up 2 straight wins since a no-contest against Chris Curtis at UFC 289. The victories are impressive, too, coming by majority decision against Roman Dolidze and via KO/TKO in round 4 against Jared Cannonier, both in main events.

He is 5-1-1 in the past 7 bouts, with his lone setback coming by way of unanimous decision against Sean Strickland in another main event in Jan. 2023.

Allen has racked up 7 straight fights since a KO/TKO loss to Curtis, including a split-decision victory in a revenge match, also against Curtis. Prior to that, Allen had 4 submission victories. In the 7-bout streak, he has 5 wins via submission, and 2 decision wins.

Both fighters have a reach of 75 inches, while Imavov has a slight 4.58-to-3.98 significant strikes landed per minute advantage. The strike accuracy percentage difference is rather negligible, with Allen checking in at 59.29%, and Imavov at 58.88%. Allen is much better on takedown average at 1.74, to 0.98 for Imavov, while the underdog Allen has a 47.22% accuracy on takedowns, to just 36.00% for Imavov.

Watch this card with ESPN+ by signing up here.

UFC Fight Night 243: Imavov vs. Allen odds

Provided by BetMGM Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list of UFC odds. Lines last updated at 7:59 a.m. ET.

  • Fight result (2-way line): Imavov -200 (bet $200 to win $100) | Allen +165 (bet $100 to win $165)
  • Over/Under: 2.5 rounds (Over -165 | Under +125)
  • Will the fight go the distance? (Yes -120 | No -110)

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UFC Fight Night 243: Imavov vs. Allen picks and predictions

Fight result (2-way line or moneyline)

While Imavov (-200) is the favorite in his native France, ALLEN (+165) is an attractive play straight up on the 2-way line.

It’s never easy to go into hostile territory and get the victory. Imavov will likely feed off the energy of the crowd. But, Allen has very similar stats to Imavov, and he is much better on takedowns. It’s a coin flip when these fighters get to the mat — as they’re equally strong in the ground game.

Over/Under (O/U)

Roll with NO (-110): WILL THE FIGHT GO THE DISTANCE?, as we should get a finish here.

While Imavov has gone the distance in 3 of his past 5 fights, he had 3 KO/TKO wins and a no contest in the past 8 bouts.

For Allen, he had a decision last time out, but prior to that he has 4 straight submission victories. It wouldn’t be surprising to see this fight end before the judges need to figure out a winner. UNDER 2.5 ROUNDS (+125) is an attractive play at plus-money, too, if you’re a little less conservative.

Visit MMA Junkie for more fight news and analysis.

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For more sports betting picks and tips, check out SportsbookWire.com and BetFTW.

Follow Kevin J. Erickson on Twitter/X. Follow SportsbookWire on Twitter/X and us on Facebook.

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Nassourdine Imavov vs. Brendan Allen prediction, pick, start time for UFC Fight Night 243

Either Nassourdine Imavov or Brendan Allen will take a big step toward a UFC middleweight title shot, but who will it be?

[autotag]Nassourdine Imavov[/autotag] and [autotag]Brendan Allen[/autotag] meet Saturday on the main card of UFC Fight Night 243 at Accor Arena in Paris. Check out this quick breakdown of the matchup from MMA Junkie analyst Dan Tom. 

Last event: 3-2
UFC main cards, 2024: 79-68-3

Nassourdine Imavov vs. Brendan Allen UFC Paris preview

Imavov (14-4 MMA, 6-2 UFC) vs. Allen (24-5 MMA, 12-2 UFC) is an intriguing matchup between middleweights officially in the UFC’s top-10 rankings. … Imavov, who’s No. 4, has won back-to-back bouts, including the biggest victory of his career in his most recent matchup as he finished former title challenger Jared Cannonier in the fourth round of their encounter in June. … Allen has been on a roll since February 2022, having won seven consecutive fights. Allen is coming off a split decision win over Chris Curtis in their five-round rematch that took place this past April.

Nassourdine Imavov vs. Brendan Allen UFC Paris expert pick, prediction

Despite the UFC drowning us in middleweight main events since the pandemic, this is a fight that actually deserves five rounds. The three-round nature should favor Imavov, but I believe Allen is a live underdog in this spot.

Aside from the fact that Allen is riding the momentum of a seven-fight winning streak, the American fights at a dogged pace and has one of the more dangerous grappling games in the division (currently owning the second most submissions in UFC middleweight history).

Imavov is an incredibly skilled and well-trained fighter, but the Frenchman’s propensity to both clinch and fade down the stretch worries me against a grapple-heavy fighter like Allen.

Even though I’m officially picking Allen to dig out a decision win, a late finish from “All In” wouldn’t shock me either.

Nassourdine Imavov vs. Brendan Allen UFC Paris odds

The oddsmakers and public favor the French fighter, listing Imavov -230 and Allen +184 via FanDuel.

Nassourdine Imavov vs. Brendan Allen UFC Paris start time, how to watch

As the co-main event, Imavov and Allen are expected to walk to the cage at approximately 5:15 p.m. ET (11:15 p.m. locally in Paris). The fight will stream on ESPN+.

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 243.

Nassourdine Imavov says Brendan Allen doesn’t get to call shots before UFC Paris: ‘I have more hype’

Nassourdine Imavov thinks Brendan Allen is in no position to be making so many demands.

[autotag]Nassourdine Imavov[/autotag] thinks [autotag]Brendan Allen[/autotag] is in no position to be making so many demands.

Imavov (14-4 MMA, 6-2 UFC) takes on Allen (24-5 MMA, 12-2 UFC) in Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 243 (ESPN+) middleweight co-main event at Accor Arena in Paris. Allen initially said he wouldn’t fly to enemy territory to fight Imavov unless it’s a main event. He then accused Imavov of declining a five-round fight. Imavov is confused by Allen’s stipulations and said five rounds was never on the table.

“He wanted a lot of things, but it doesn’t matter,” Imavov told reporters through an interpreter at Wednesday’s UFC Fight Night 243 media day (h/t La Sueur). “He’s behind me. He doesn’t have hype. I have more hype than him, I’m better ranked than him. So, he has nothing to claim for.

“He’s coming to my city. The contract that the UFC sent was three rounds, and I’m not afraid of five rounds. If you see, my last fight against Jared was initially a three-round fight and then they came back to me two weeks before the fight to ask me to take a five-round main event, and it was no problem.”

If Imavov gets past Allen, he has his sights set on former champion Israel Adesanya.

“I heard media say that a fight with Adesanya would be good, and the people seem interested,” Imavov said. “It’s two correct styles, so I think it could be a great fight.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 243.

Brendan Allen puts Nassourdine Imavov on blast for ‘kind of a b*tch move’ regarding UFC Paris fight

Brendan Allen says Nassourdine Imavov did not want their UFC Paris fight scheduled for five rounds and takes umbrage with that.

[autotag]Brendan Allen[/autotag] claims [autotag]Nassourdine Imavov[/autotag] did not want their fight scheduled for five rounds.

Allen (24-5 MMA, 12-2 UFC) takes on Imavov (14-4 MMA, 6-2) in a three-round fight, which co-headlines UFC Fight Night 243 on September 28 at Accor Arena in Paris.

Headlining the event will be a lightweight banger between Benoit Saint Denis and Renato Moicano, but Allen is baffled by that matchup getting a higher billing than his.

“Some people just need all the deck in their favor to try and win, but it’s not going to be enough,” Allen told MMA News. “I’m still going to win. I accepted the five rounds. I asked for the five rounds. I’ve heard the explanations, but I still don’t agree or understand it. It’s above my pay grade. I think it’s bullsh*t that (Nos.) 10 and 12 guys are main event over (Nos.) 4 and 7, where we have title contentions that are possibly surrounding our fight.”

The UFC has booked numerous five-round co-main events of late, and Allen thinks his fight with Imavov is high-stakes enough to warrant the same treatment.

“I think it’s kind of a b*tch move that he doesn’t want to accept five rounds,” Allen said of Imavov. “Even as a co-main, he doesn’t want to accept five rounds. You want to fight for the belt? You want to stake your claim? Like, that’s how you do it. You go out there and win a five-round fight, even if it doesn’t go five rounds.

“You still took it, you were still ready for that, you get extra money for it. I don’t fully understand the reasoning, but I understand their logic. Some people just need all the cards in their favor as much as possible to win, but it’s not going to be enough.”

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UFC adds Brendan Allen vs. Nassourdine Imavov to Paris event

A key middleweight matchup between Brendan Allen and Nassourdine Imavov has been added to the September UFC event in Paris.

The UFC’s upcoming event in Paris, France, continues to take shape with a key middleweight matchup.

At a UFC Fight Night event on September 28 at Accor Arena, [autotag]Brendan Allen[/autotag] returns to action to take on [autotag]Nasssourdine Imavov[/autotag] in an important bout for both 185-pound title hopefuls. MMA Junkie confirmed the matchup with multiple sources following a first report from Fight Minds.

Allen (24-5 MMA, 12-2 UFC) recently revealed in an Instagram video that the UFC offered him the matchup, but said he would not take the fight unless it were the main event. As a winner of three straight main events, “All In” did not want to move down the card and travel to his opponent’s home country. He later stated on Instagram Stories that he already signed the contract for the fight before making the video.

https://www.instagram.com/p/C9V0fZtJbsc/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Imavov (14-4 MMA, 6-2) gets the opportunity to fight in his backyard. A winner of two straight main events himself, including a controversial stoppage of former title challenger Jared Cannonier, Imavov has his eyes set on earning a shot at the title.

In the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie middleweight rankings, Imavov sits at the No. 6 spot with Allen not far behind at No. 10.

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With the addition, the current UFC Fight Night event lineup in Paris includes:

  • Renato Moicano vs. Benoit Saint-Denis
  • Brendan Allen vs. Nassourdine Imavov
  • Joanderson Brito vs. William Gomis
  • Nora Cornolle vs. Germaine de Randamie
  • Ailin Perez vs. Darya Zheleznyakova
  • Matt Frevola vs. Fares Ziam
  • Victor Altamirano vs. Daniel Barez
  • Da Woon Jung vs. Oumar Sy