UFC Louisville Imavov Vs. Cannonier

UFC went to Louisville for the first time in a while and hosted an amazing card. This was topped off with a Main Card with three Performance bonuses. Many names were recognizable and some that would soon become recognizable. Let's dive into the Main Card.

The first fight was a Welterweight fight between Miguel Baeza and Punahele Soriano. This kicked us off with a dominant performance. The first round was very even on the feet with Baeza keeping distance. Soriano got in, took the fight to the ground, and kept him there until the end of the round. The second round was even more scrambles and ground control from Soriano landing constant significant ground strikes to put him even further on the scorecards. The third round was even more domination from Soriano to take the fight to the scorecards. It was a dominant display from Soriano with two judges scoring the fight at 30/25.

The fight to follow this dominant display was between Zachary Reese and Julian Marquez. These two are very talented Middleweights looking to boost their stock. The fight started with early calf kicks from both men. Reese checked a leg kick that put Marquez on the back foot, landed a flush body kick, and a right uppercut that knocked out Marquez. A quick knockout that didn't see the first 30 seconds of the fight. This gave Reese an extra 50k to walk away with a Performance Bonus.

The fight to follow this Knockout was another Middleweight fight between Brunno Ferreira and Dustin Stoltzfus. The fight started with Stoltzfus looking for his powerful lead hook, with both landing great combinations that did not go unnoticed. Stoltzfus stuffed a judo throw and eventually worked out of the ground game to stand up. Many strikes were being thrown and many were landing. As both men were rocked, one Brunno Ferreira threw a Hail Mary spinning elbow that knocked out Stoltzfus. Another Performance Bonus was granted to Brunno Ferreira.

Following the two Middleweight fights, we jumped down to Bantamweight with a fan-favorite fight between Raul Rosas Jr. and Ricky Turcios. The fight took off the second the bell rang with Turcios faking the glove touch to go after Rosas right after the bell. Rosas landed a takedown at a great time to secure ground control for the remainder of the round. The second round wasn't too different except for the early back take and subsequent Rear Naked Choke to finish the fight in the second round. With yet another Performance Bonus on the main card going to the 19-year-old Rosas.

The Co-Main Event featured the return of a fan favorite Dominick Reyes facing off against Dustin Jacoby. With their stances contrasting each other, they were looking to challenge the lead leg of each other. It didn't take Jacoby to start swinging and connecting with wild strikes, but it was Reyes who ended up landing and knocking out Jacoby in the first round. A great way to take us into the Main Event.

The Main Event featured two very experienced Middleweights in Jared Cannonier and Nassourdine Imavov. The bout started with good calf kicks from both sides with Cannonier connecting on his blitzes. Imavov ended the first round on the ground, but it still went to Cannonier. The second round had even more calf kicks, but Imavov countered and led the pace throughout the round, taking Cannonier down to secure the second round. The third round featured good ground control from Imavov but Cannonier landed on more strikes to execute and go into the fourth round winning on the scorecards. The fourth round started with Imavov leading the tempo and winning the exchanges. This took Cannonier to the end of the fight with a standing knockout which caused some controversy. Imavov wins via KO in the fourth.

Thank you for reading. I will see you guys on the Punchline with many special guests that you will definitely recognize. Thank you and enjoy the fights as always.