Zelim Imadaev – Syndication Server

Video: Did Zelim Imadaev tap to Michel Pereira’s choke at UFC on ESPN+ 34?

Did Zelim Imadaev tap to Michel Pereira’s choke at UFC on ESPN+ 34?

[autotag]Zelim Imadaev[/autotag] didn’t seem OK with the way his fight ended Saturday.

The Russian fighter lost to Brazil’s [autotag]Michel Pereira[/autotag] with a third-round submission at UFC on ESPN+ 34 in Las Vegas. Imadaev (8-3 MMA, 0-3 UFC) fell to a rear-naked choke at the 4:39 mark of the final round of his welterweight contest.

But the referee’s intervention was off to many watching from home, and certainly for Imadaev. The 25-year-old complained to the referee about the stoppage, claiming he didn’t actually tap out to Pereira’s submission.

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Although Imadaev seemed to be down on the scorecards and there only were 21 seconds left in the fight, MMA has seen crazier comebacks. Imadaev is now 0-3 since joining the UFC. Did you think the referee was wrong for stopping his fight against Pereira?

Check out the submission finish below:

An exclamation point to a stellar night – @UFCPereira, take a bow 👏

[ We’re live on #ESPNPlus ] #UFCVegas9 pic.twitter.com/kk9NaYnpl3

— UFC (@ufc) September 6, 2020

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UFC on ESPN+ 34 predictions: Who’s taking Augusto Sakai over Alistair Overeem in changing of the guard?

Check out our staff members’ picks for the UFC on ESPN+ 34 main card, featuring Alistair Overeem vs. Augusto Sakai at heavyweight.

	Overeem vs. Sakai	Menifield vs. Saint Preux	Imadaev vs. Pereira	Kelleher vs. Natividad	Moises vs. Turner
MMA Junkie readers’ consensus picks 2020: 88-58	Overeem (71%)	Saint Preux (55%)	Pereira (73%)	Kelleher (N/A)	Moises (64%)
Dan Tom @DanTomMMA 2020: 100-46	Sakai	Saint Preux	Pereira	Kelleher	Turner
Nolan King @mma_kings 2020: 100-46	Overeem	Saint Preux	Pereira	Kelleher	Moises
Farah Hannoun @Farah_Hannoun 2020: 99-47	Overeem	Menifield	Pereira	Kelleher	Moises
Simon Head @simonhead 2020: 97-49 2019 Champion*	Overeem	Menifield	Pereira	Kelleher	Moises
Danny Segura @dannyseguratv 2020: 96-50	Overeem	Menifield	Pereira	Kelleher	Moises
Brian Garcia @thegoze 2020: 95-51 2017 Champion	Sakai	Saint Preux	Pereira	Kelleher	Moises
Simon Samano @SJSamano 2020: 94-52	Overeem	Menifield	Pereira	Kelleher	Turner
Mike Bohn @MikeBohnMMA 2020: 94-52 2014 Champion	Overeem	Menifield	Pereira	Kelleher	Moises
Dave Doyle @davedoylemma 2020: 93-53	Overeem	Saint Preux	Pereira	Kelleher	Moises
Ken Hathaway @kenshathaway 2020: 92-54 2018 Champion	Sakai	Menifield	Pereira	Kelleher	Moises
George Garcia @MMAjunkieGeorge 2020: 89-57	Overeem	Saint Preux	Pereira	Kelleher	Moises
John Morgan @MMAjunkieJohn 2020: 88-58	Overeem	Saint Preux	Pereira	Kelleher	Moises
Abbey Subhan @kammakaze 2020: 87-59	Overeem	Menifield	Pereira	Kelleher	Moises
Matt Erickson @MMAjunkieMatt 2020: 61-85	Sakai	Saint Preux	Imadaev	Natividad	Turner

The UFC is home in Las Vegas again this week with a former heavyweight title challenger atop the card.

UFC on ESPN+ 34 takes place Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The card streams on ESPN+.

(Click here to open a PDF of the staff picks grid in a separate window.)

In the main event, [autotag]Alistair Overeem[/autotag] (46-18 MMA, 11-7 UFC) takes on [autotag]Augusto Sakai[/autotag] (15-1-1 MMA, 4-0 UFC) in a heavyweight bout. Overeem is a -165 favorite, and our 14 editors, writers, videographers and radio hosts have him with a big lead at 10-4.

In the co-main event, [autotag]Alonzo Menifield[/autotag] (9-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC) meets [autotag]Ovince Saint Preux[/autotag] (24-14 MMA, 12-9 UFC) in a light heavyweight fight that was delayed from a couple weeks back. Menifield is a slight favorite, but our pickers have the bout split down the middle at 7-7.

Also on the main card, [autotag]Zelim Imadaev[/autotag] (8-2 MMA, 0-2 UFC) takes on [autotag]Michel Pereira[/autotag] (23-11 MMA, 1-2 UFC) at welterweight. There was bad blood at Friday’s weigh-ins, culminating in a shove from Imadaev. But when it comes to the picks, even though the fight is a pick’em at some sportsbooks, our staff members have Pereira with a massive 13-1 lead.

The other near-unanimous pick on the main card goes to [autotag]Brian Kelleher[/autotag] (21-11 MMA, 5-4 UFC), who is more than a 2-1 favorite against short-notice featherweight opponent [autotag]Kevin Natividad[/autotag] (9-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC). Only one of our pickers is taking Natividad to pull the upset.

And to open the main card, [autotag]Thiago Moises[/autotag] (13-4 MMA, 2-2 UFC) is a slight favorite against [autotag]Jalin Turner[/autotag] (9-5 MMA, 2-2 UFC) in their lightweight bout. But our pickers have Moises with a big lead at 11-3.

In the MMA Junkie reader consensus picks, Overeem (71 percent), Saint Preux (55 percent), Pereira (73 percent), Kelleher (N/A percent) and Moises (64 percent) are the choices.

Check out all the picks above.

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UFC on ESPN+ 34’s Michel Pereira and Zelim Imadaev come to blows during fighter faceoffs

UFC adds Michel Pereira vs. Zelim Imadaev to Sept. 5 event

A welterweight matchup between Michel Pereira and Zelim Imadaev is the latest addition to the UFC’s Sept. 5 event.

A welterweight matchup is the latest addition to the UFC’s Sept. 5 event.

[autotag]Michel Pereira[/autotag] (23-11-2 MMA, 1-2 UFC) will face [autotag]Zelim Imadaev[/autotag] (8-2 MMA, 0-2 UFC). No location or name designation has been announced for the event at this time.

A person with knowledge of the situation confirmed the targeted booking to MMA Junkie after an initial report by ESPN. The person asked to remain anonymous as the promotion has yet to make an announcement.

After a thrilling knockout over Danny Roberts in his UFC debut, Pereira has dropped his last two in a row to Tristan Connelly and most recently Diego Sanchez by disqualification in February.

Imadaev entered the UFC unbeaten, with all his wins coming by finish. However, he has struggled to get his feet wet in the UFC, falling short in his first two fights against Max Griffin and Danny Roberts. He will look to notch his first promotional win when he takes on Brazil’s Pereira.

With the addition, the current Sept. 5 lineup includes:

Alistair Overeem vs. Augusto Sakai
Julia Avila vs. Nicco Montano
Montana De La Rosa vs. Maryna Moroz
Michel Pereira vs. Zelim Imadaev

Greg Hardy, four others face lengthy medical suspensions after UFC on ESPN+ 21

Greg Hardy is potentially out up to 180 days after injuring his hand at UFC Moscow.

[autotag]Greg Hardy[/autotag] is one of five fighters facing lengthy medical suspensions after UFC on ESPN+ 21.

The event took place Nov. 9 at CSKA Arena in Moscow and streamed on ESPN+.

One half of the co-main event, Hardy (5-2 MMA, 2-2 UFC) dropped a three-round, unanimous decision to heavyweight contender [autotag]Alexander Volkov[/autotag]. As speculated on the broadcast, Hardy injured his right hand/wrist and faces a 180-day medical suspension as a result.

Additionally, four other fighters have been handed out six-month suspensions. [autotag]Dalcha Lungiambula[/autotag], [autotag]Abubakar Nurmagomedov[/autotag], [autotag]Jessica-Rose Clark[/autotag], and [autotag]Grigorii Popov[/autotag] were also handed 180-day suspensions for injuries sustained in their respective losses.

Check out the entire UFC on ESPN+ 21 medical suspension list below (acquired via MixedMartialArts.com):

[autotag]Grigorii Popov[/autotag]: Suspended 180 days or until nasal x-ray is cleared by physician; also suspended 30 days with no contact for 21 days
[autotag]Davey Grant[/autotag]: Suspended seven days for mandatory rest
[autotag]Jessica-Rose Clark[/autotag]: Suspended 180 days or until cleared by ENT physician; also suspended 45 days with no contact for 30 days
[autotag]Pannie Kianzad[/autotag]: Suspended seven days for mandatory rest
[autotag]Alexander Yakovlev[/autotag]: Suspended seven days for mandatory rest
[autotag]Roosevelt Roberts[/autotag]: Suspended seven days for mandatory rest
[autotag]Abubakar Nurmagomedov[/autotag]: Suspended 180 days or until left elbow x-ray is cleared by physician; also suspended 14 days for mandatory rest
[autotag]Roman Kopylov[/autotag]: Suspended seven days for mandatory rest
[autotag]Karl Roberson[/autotag]: Suspended 30 days for right eyelid laceration with 21 days no contact
[autotag]Rustam Khabilov[/autotag]: Suspended seven days for mandatory rest
[autotag]Sergey Khandozhko[/autotag]: Suspended seven days for mandatory rest
[autotag]Magomed Ankalaev[/autotag]: Suspended seven days for mandatory rest
[autotag]Dalcha Lungiambula[/autotag]: Suspended 180 days or until cleared by OMF physician; also suspended 30 days with no contact for 21 days
[autotag]Shamil Gamzatov[/autotag]: Suspended seven days for mandatory rest
[autotag]Klidson Abreu[/autotag]: Suspended seven days for mandatory rest
[autotag]Ramazan Emeev[/autotag]: Suspended seven days for mandatory rest
[autotag]Anthony Rocco Martin[/autotag]: Suspended 30 days for nasal laceration with no contact for 21 days
[autotag]Khadis Ibragimov[/autotag]: Suspended seven days for mandatory rest
[autotag]Ed Herman[/autotag]: Suspended 30 days for hard bout with 21 days no contact
[autotag]Zelim Imadaev[/autotag]: Suspended seven days for mandatory rest
[autotag]Danny Roberts[/autotag]: Suspended 30 days for right temple laceration with 21 days no contact
Alexander Volkov: Suspended seven days for mandatory rest
Greg Hardy: Suspended 180 days or until right hand/wrist x-ray is cleared by physician; also suspended 30 days with no contact for 21 days
[autotag]Zabit Magomedsharipov[/autotag]: Suspended seven days for mandatory rest
[autotag]Calvin Kattar[/autotag]: Suspended 30 days for hard bout with 21 days no contact

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