Nassourdine Imavov fires back at critics after his controversial TKO win at UFC Louisville as he aims to secure a big-money rematch next.
In the main event of UFC Louisville, middleweight contender Nassourdine Imavov was able to secure a fourth-round TKO victory over veteran Jared Cannonier; but the finish was tinged with controversy as both fighters and fans debated whether referee Jason Herzog made a critical error in stopping the bout early.
Nassourdine Imavov reacts to controversial TKO win at UFC Louisville
Whilst there’s no question that Nassourdine Imavov had Jared Cannonier badly rocked in the moments leading up to the UFC Louisville main event being called off, there is an argument that the referee was a bit too quick to bring an end to the firefight.
In the immediate aftermath of the controversial stoppage, fellow UFC fighters took to social media to express their frustration at Herzog’s decision to step in with the likes of Herbert Burns stating, “What a horrible stoppage,” and Randy Brown adding “That stoppage was whack.”
Unsurprisingly, speaking after the contest came to its divisive conclusion, Imavov was adamant that the referee was right to save Cannonier from more damage.
“Absolutely not [an early stoppage], it’s the job of the referee to decide if the fighter is able to keep going or not,” he explained to the media, adding “He already took a lot of damage, and he would have taken even more if the fight would have continued, so I think it was the right decision to stop it.
“He was out of the fight, and he was taking a lot of damage. The rule is to protect yourself at all times, you have to move intelligently, and he wasn’t doing that. He was taking a lot of damage, and he would have taken even more damage.”
Imavov also stated that he would have been willing to continue dishing out the punishment had the referee let the fight go longer, but that he is happy that the right call was made.
“I was ready to continue the fight, if the fight was willing to be continued, the referee – that’s his job, that’s what he does on a daily basis – so I think this was the right decision, but I was ready to keep going.”
Imavov eyes Paris homecoming against Sean Strickland
After getting his hand raised in Kentucky, there was just one name on the mind of the now 14-4 middleweight contender, former UFC champion Sean Strickland.
“My goal is to get the belt; for me, for my family, for everyone around me,” he told Paul Felder in the cage, before calling out the former champion for a homecoming bout in Paris.
“My goal is the belt, so I’d like to fight Sean Strickland in Paris – Sean Strickland if you want to do it, come to Paris and we’re going to fight together.”
Imavov’s last loss in the UFC came at the hands of the outspoken American, with ‘Tarzan’ able to secure a dominant unanimous decision victory over the Frenchman back in January 2021.
Yet since that bout, Strickland has been dismissive towards Imavov’s request for a rematch, telling RMCSportsCombat earlier this year: “You ain’t getting a f**** rematch, climb the ladder… I don’t look backwards.”
Despite wanting to get that loss back, it seems that Imavov understood Strickland might be unwilling to face him in his backyard.
He told reporters after the UFC Louisville win that “I can’t do anything if he doesn’t want to fight,” and that “I’m going to be fighting in Paris [either way], whoever is in front of me I’ll be fighting, and I want to stay active as much as I can.
“Sean Strickland is in front of me, we already fought at 93 kilograms, I would like to take my revenge at 84 kilograms [at] UFC Paris… [But] it’s not my role to decide – it’s the UFC’s role, what I know is that I’m 28 and just had a dominating performance against one of the top guys in the division and I am not even at my best, I can progress more.”
According to Imavov, “I’m already good enough to get the title and get the belt.”
With the victory over Jared Cannonier, Nassourdine Imavov improves to 14-4 as a professional.