Final night time’s win at UFC Louisville was a bittersweet one for Nassourdine Imavov. The MMA Manufacturing facility middleweight had Jared Cannonier harm and stumbling round earlier than the battle was known as off prematurely within the eyes of many. Will his subsequent battle be a rematch with certainly one of his former opponents? Let’s discover the choices.
Preventing upwards: Sean Strickland rematch
The one true possibility for Nassourdine Imavov to battle north could be a rematch with Sean Strickland. Strickland is coming off of a victory over Paulo Costa final weekend at UFC 302. Strickland can also be the final particular person to defeat the French native which got here in 2023. That battle noticed Strickland win a unanimous resolution and would ultimately go on to win the title.
The one concern: Sean Strickland desires to battle for the title subsequent and has a powerful case for the Dricus Du Plessis rematch. The way in which middleweight is at present scheduled could imply that the 28-year-old could must battle down within the rankings.
He’s not getting the title shot in opposition to Dricus Du Plessis over Strickland or Adesanya. Robert Whittaker going to tackle Khamzat Chimaev in a pair weeks. This implies the one choice to battle above is probably going Strickland. If Strickland doesn’t need to battle down, Imavov is out.
Prospect vs. Prospect
The perfect matchup, for my part, is a battle with Brendan Allen. Nassourdine Imavov will probably leapfrog fifth ranked Allen and take Cannonier’s fourth rating. Allen, nonetheless, is on a seven battle successful streak and has made a giant identify for himself as he made his manner up the rankings.
Nassourdine Imavov has had hassle with fighters in opposition to the fence. Cannonier and Roman Dolidze managed to carry him there for prolonged durations. A possible battle with Allen would reply the query of, “Can Imavov cease a takedown in opposition to an excellent wrestler?” Dolidze has didn’t get a takedown in his final 5 fights. Cannonier is a striker first. Brendan Allen would get his shot on the prime 5 and Imavov would reply a vital query earlier than taking over a fighter like Dricus Du Plessis.
The opposite rematch: Nassourdine Imavov vs. Jared Cannonier 2
With the controversial nature of final night time’s battle, there’s a case to be made for Imavov vs. Cannonier 2. Jared Cannonier was pretty properly recovered when the Jason Herzog known as the battle. With Cannonier coming off a 12 months layoff resulting from an MCL surgical procedure, the case may very well be made that Cannonier was compromised as a result of nature of his harm.
This doesn’t do a lot for Imavov, who could be taking all of the dangers. He would probably need to keep away from getting in a scenario like Magomed Ankalaev, who spent a 12 months of his life preventing, rematching, and rebooking a battle with Ion Cutelaba. But when Imavov can’t get Strickland or Allen, Jared Cannonier could also be the most effective battle for him.
