Tag: Nassourdine Imavov

Nassourdine Imavov predicts knockout in Joaquin Buckley fight at UFC Paris

Nassourdine Imavov doesn’t see his fight with Joaquin Buckley going the distance at UFC Fight Night 209 in Paris.

PARIS – [autotag]Nassourdine Imavov[/autotag] doesn’t see his fight with [autotag]Joaquin Buckley[/autotag] going the distance.

Imavov (11-3 MMA, 3-1 UFC) faces Buckley (15-4 MMA, 5-2 UFC) at UFC Fight Night 209 on Saturday at Accor Arena in Paris. The card streams on ESPN+.

Both men boast a high finishing rate, and Buckley is responsible for one of the most viral knockouts in UFC history when he landed a spinning back kick on Impa Kasanganay in October 2020. That said, Imavov expects someone to go down – and says it won’t be him.

“We’re both finishers,” Imavov told reporters through an interpreter at the UFC Fight Night 209 media day. “He has KOs. So do I. So when you have a fight with two guys like that, for sure the fight won’t go the distance.

“It’s going to be a war from beginning to end, and one of us is going to go to sleep – and I can tell you who it’s going to be.”

Imavov, who trains at MMA Factory Paris, will get to compete in front of his home fans against Buckley, but was surprised to find himself on the preliminary card.

“I was a bit disappointed, but it doesn’t matter,” Imavov said. “I’m going to put on a show no matter what, prelims or not, so that’s it.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 209.

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Joaquin Buckley says French people told him to KO Nassourdine Imavov: ‘I think he’s in enemy territory, not me’

Joaquin Buckley says he’s feeling the love from the French fans ahead of the UFC’s first event in Paris.

PARIS – [autotag]Joaquin Buckley[/autotag] is unexpectedly feeling the love from the French fans.

It’s gotten to the point that Buckley (15-4 MMA, 5-2 UFC) almost sees Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 209 event as a home bout, despite taking on MMA Factory Paris’ [autotag]Nassourdine Imavov[/autotag] (11-3 MMA, 3-1 UFC) at Accor Arena in Paris. The card streams on ESPN+.

According to Buckley, the French fans have been giving him an outpouring of support, even willing him on to knock out Imavov.

“I’m not in enemy territory,” Buckley told reporters at Thursday’s UFC Fight Night 209 media day. “I’ve been getting all the love here in France, in Paris. To be honest with you, Nassourdine – I don’t know how long he’s been here, but I know he’s not born here.

“He’s a Russian guy – Dagestani. He sometimes carried the Russian flag, so a lot of people from France, when I said his name, they didn’t know who he was and they told me, ‘Go get him. Go knock him out.’ For France, that’s what they told me. I’ve got it on video. So at the end of the day, I think he’s in enemy territory, not me.”

Like Imavov, Buckley doesn’t see their fight going the distance.

“Somebody’s getting finished,” Buckley said. “So my thing is having the skill, having experience, and just having a will. Whose will is going to be stronger and who’s going to break first is the person that’s going to fall.

“Whatever he gives me, whatever openings that he shows, I’m going to expose and I’m going to take it. But I do see my hand getting raised at the end of the day.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 209.

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Joaquin Buckley vs. Nassourdine Imavov joins UFC Paris lineup on Sept. 3

Rising middleweight contenders Joaquin Buckley and Nassourdine Imavov will square off in Paris.

Rising middleweight contenders will square off in Paris.

[autotag]Joaquin Buckley[/autotag] (15-4 MMA, 5-2 UFC) meets [autotag]Nassourdine Imavov[/autotag] (11-3 MMA, 2-1 UFC) on Sept. 3 at Accor Arena, promotion officials announced Wednesday.

La Sueur was first to report the news.

Winner of five of his past six, Buckley is coming off a Performance of the Night stoppage win over Albert Duraev at UFC on ESPN 37 in June. Four of his wins in that stretch came by knockout, including the viral spinning back kick of Impa Kasanganay.

After losing a majority decision to Phil Hawes in his UFC debut, Imavov rebounded with back-to-back second-round finishes of Ian Heinisch and Edmen Shahbazyan. Training partner of Ciryl Gane at MMA Factory Paris, the 27-year-old has won eight of his past nine fights.

With the change, the UFC Paris lineup includes:

  • Ciryl Gane vs. Tai Tuivasa
  • Marvin Vettori vs. Robert Whittaker
  • Jessica Andrade vs. Manon Fiorot
  • Absupiyan Magomedov vs. Makhmud Muradov
  • Zarah Fairn vs. Ailin Perez
  • Alessio Di Chirico vs. Roman Kopylov
  • Nasrat Haqparast vs. John Makdessi
  • Joaquin Buckley vs. Nassourdine Imavov

UFC 273 news: Nassourdine Imavov vs. Kelvin Gastelum off, Ilir Latifi vs. Aleksei Oleinik added

The UFC’s April pay-per-view event sees a shake-up in the lineup, losing one fight and adding another previously canceled bout.

April’s UFC pay-per-view event sees a pair of changes to the lineup.

Due to visa issues, [autotag]Nassourdine Imavov[/autotag] will no longer compete against [autotag]Kelvin Gastelum[/autotag], the promotion officially announced on Monday. The fight has been canceled from the card and there will be no replacement opponent for Gastelum.

Imavov (11-3 MMA, 3-1 UFC), 26, will have to wait a little longer to compete in his first fight of 2022, as he was anticipating the opportunity to extend his current win streak to three straight.

The former middleweight title challenger Gastelum (16-8 MMA, 11-8-1 UFC), 30, has not competed since August, when he dropped a unanimous decision to Jared Cannonier, and would have looked to snap a two-fight skid.

It is unclear if the bout will be rebooked at a later date or if the promotion will move on to a different matchup.

While one fight is lost, another is gained in a previously canceled heavyweight matchup. At UFC on ESPN 33, [autotag]Ilir Latifi[/autotag] was scheduled to face [autotag]Aleksei Oleinik[/autotag], but the fight fell apart just hours before the event. Latifi was forced to pull out of the fight with a non-COVID-related illness. The promotion moved quickly to reschedule the bout, and it will now take place at the pay-per-view event which is headed by two title fights.

With the changes, the UFC 273 lineup now includes:

  • Alexander Volkanovski vs. Chan Sung Jung – for the featherweight title
  • Aljamain Sterling vs. Petr Yan – for the bantamweight title
  • Gilbert Burns vs. Khamzat Chimaev
  • Mackenzie Dern vs. Tecia Torres
  • Irene Aldana vs. Aspen Ladd
  • Ian Garry vs. Darian Weeks
  • Dricus Du Plessis vs. Anthony Hernandez
  • Jairzinho Rozenstruik vs. Marcin Tybura
  • Ilir Latifi vs. Aleksei Oleinik
  • Mickey Gall vs. Mike Malott
  • Pat Sabatini vs. Gavin Tucker
  • Julio Arce vs. Daniel Santos
  • Mark Madsen vs. Vinc Pichel
  • Kay Hansen vs. Piera Rodriguez

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Kelvin Gastelum vs. Nassourdine Imavov joins UFC 273 lineup

Nassourdine Imavov will get a big opportunity when he faces perennial middleweight contender Kelvin Gastelum.

[autotag]Nassourdine Imavov[/autotag] will get a big opportunity when he faces a perennial middleweight contender.

Imavov (11-3 MMA, 3-1 UFC) takes on [autotag]Kelvin Gastelum[/autotag] (17-8 MMA, 11-8 UFC) at UFC 273 on April 9. The pay-per-view event doesn’t yet have an announced venue or location.

A person with knowledge of the matchup confirmed the booking with MMA Junkie following an initial report by ESPN. The booking has yet to be officially announced by the promotion.

Imavov, a main training partner of UFC interim heavyweight champion Ciryl Gane, is coming off back-to-back finishes. After stopping Ian Heinisch in July, the 25-year-old Dagestan-born, France-based fighter scored a second-round TKO of fellow prospect Edmen Shahbazyan at UFC 268 in November.

Since getting outlasted by Israel Adesanya for the interim middleweight title in a barnburner at UFC 236, Gastelum has struggled. His lone win in his past six fights came over Heinisch at UFC 258, and the Season 17 “Ultimate Fighter” winner is coming off back-to-back main event losses to former champion Robert Whittaker and top contender Jared Cannonier.

With the addition, the UFC 273 lineup now includes:

  • Champ Alexander Volkanovski vs. Chan Sung Jung – for featherweight title
  • Champ Aljamain Sterling vs. interim champ Petr Yan – to unify bantamweight title
  • Mackenzie Dern vs. Tecia Torres
  • Irene Aldana vs. Aspen Ladd
  • Pat Sabatini vs. Gavin Tucker
  • Mickey Gall vs. Mike Malott
  • Kelvin Gastelum vs. Nassourdine Imavov

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UFC 268 Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay: Venum era total passes $5 million

Fighters from Saturday’s UFC 268 took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $325,500.

NEW YORK – Fighters from Saturday’s UFC 268 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $325,500.

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 268 took place at the Madison Square Garden. The main card aired on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPNews and ESPN+.

The full UFC 268 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:

* * * *

[autotag]Kamaru Usman[/autotag]: $42,000
def. [autotag]Colby Covington[/autotag]: $32,000

[autotag]Rose Namajunas[/autotag]: $42,000
def. [autotag]Zhang Weili[/autotag]: $32,000

[autotag]Marlon Vera[/autotag]: $16,000
def. [autotag]Frankie Edgar[/autotag]: $21,000

[autotag]Shane Burgos[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Billy Quarantillo[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Justin Gaethje[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Michael Chandler[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Alex Pereira[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Andreas Michailidis[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Bobby Green[/autotag]: $21,000
def. [autotag]Al Iaquinta[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Chris Curtis[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Phil Hawes[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Nassourdine Imavov[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Edmen Shahbazyan[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Ian Garry[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Jordan Williams[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Chris Barnett[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Gian Villante[/autotag]: $21,000

[autotag]Dustin Jacoby[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]John Allan[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Melsik Baghdasaryan[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Bruno Souza[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Ode Osbourne[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]CJ Vergara[/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 2011 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 2021 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts:

Year-to-date total: $5,112,500
Program-to-date total: $5,112,500

UFC 268 video: Nassourdine Imavov TKOs Edmen Shahbazyan into third straight loss

Edmen Shahbazyan’s struggles continued on Saturday’s in the form of a stoppage loss to Nassourdine Imavov at UFC 268.

[autotag]Edmen Shahbazyan[/autotag]’s struggles continued on Saturday in the form of a stoppage loss to [autotag]Nassourdine Imavov[/autotag] at UFC 268.

Shahbazyan (11-3 MMA, 4-3 UFC) has now lost three consecutive fights after the undefeated start to his career. This one again came with issues on the ground, as Imavov (11-3 MMA, 3-1 UFC) planted him on his back and landed punches and elbows from the crucifix position to secure the TKO at the 4:42 mark of Round 3.

Check out the replay of the finish below (via Twitter):

Imavov gets his second second-round stoppage in a row as he picks up his third UFC victory in four fights with the promotion.

After the win, an ecstatic Imavov said he’s looking for a step up in competition.

“I’m sorry to my opponent that I had to do that, but this is the business,” Imavov told Joe Rogan during their post-fight interview. “I want to prove that I can be one of the best.”

Up-to-the-minute UFC 268 results include:

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UFC 268’s Nassourdine Imavov thinks UFC is giving up on Edmen Shabazyan

Nassourdine Imavov believes it’s time to invest in him as the future of the middleweight divsion.

While his opponent may have received a lot of love from the promotion when he first burst onto the scene, Nassourdine Imavov believes things have changed.

At UFC 268, Imavov (10-3 MMA, 2-1 UFC) will take on Edmen Shahbazyan (11-2 MMA, 4-2 UFC) in a matchup he believes signals that the UFC has given up on the prospect.

The middleweight fight will take place on the prelims of UFC 268, which takes place at Madison Square Garden on Saturday, Nov. 6, and airs on ESPN+ pay-per-view following prelims on ESPNNews/ESPN+.

“I think I have this opportunity because the UFC thinks I’m the future,” Imavov told MMA Junkie and other reporters through a translator at media day. “At the end of the fight I will have my hand raised and they should invest in me.”

Check out the full media day interview with Imavov in the video above.

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Nassourdine Imavov vs. Edmen Shahbazyan targeted for UFC 268

A battle between middleweight prospects Edmen Shahbazyan and Nassourdine Imavov is the latest addition to UFC 268.

A battle between middleweight prospects is the latest addition to UFC 268.

[autotag]Nassourdine Imavov[/autotag] (10-3 MMA, 2-1 UFC) will take on [autotag]Edmen Shahbazyan[/autotag] (11-2 MMA, 4-2 UFC) on Nov. 6, in an event which is expected to take place at Madison Square Garden in New York.

Two people with knowledge of the matchup confirmed the targeted booking to MMA Junkie on Monday but asked to remain anonymous since the promotion has yet to make an official announcement. La Sueur was first to report the news, and MMA Junkie subsequnelty confirmed that verbal agreements are in place and about agreements are expected to be finalized shortly.

Dagestan-born Imavov is coming off the biggest win of his career, a second-round finish of Dana White’s Contender Series graduate Ian Heinisch at UFC on ESPN 27 in July. The MMA Factory Paris fighter has won seven of his past eight, with five of those victories coming by way of stoppage.

Meanwhile, Shahbazyan will look to snap his first career losing skid. After starting out his UFC tenure at 4-0, including a knockout of perennial contender Brad Tavares, the formerly unbeaten 23-year-old has dropped back-to-back losses to Derek Brunson and, most recently, Jack Hermansson in May.

With the addition, the UFC 268 lineup includes:

  • Champ Kamaru Usman vs. Colby Covington – for welterweight title
  • Michael Chandler vs. Justin Gaethje
  • Luke Rockhold vs. Sean Strickland
  • Nassourdine Imavov vs. Edmen Shahbazyan

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UFC on ESPN 27 post-event facts: T.J. Dillashaw makes history in octagon return

Check out all the facts and figures from UFC on ESPN 27, which saw T.J. Dillashaw return to the octagon in historic fashion.

The UFC’s busy July continued Saturday with UFC on ESPN 27, which took place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and aired on ESPN and streamed on ESPN+.

The highly anticipated main event of the card saw former UFC bantamweight champion [autotag]T.J. Dillashaw[/autotag] (17-4 MMA, 13-4 UFC) make his long-awaited return to the octagon with a split decision win over [autotag]Cory Sandhagen[/autotag] (14-3 MMA, 7-2 UFC).

Dillashaw’s victory was one of several debatable decisions on the card that had multiple notable feats. For more on the numbers, check below for 45 post-event facts to come out of UFC on ESPN 27.