French (by way of Russia) middleweight Nassourdine Imavov will look to continue his ascent up the 185-pound ladder this weekend when he takes on the ever-dangerous Jared Cannonier in this weekend’s UFC main event fight in the home of Muhammad Ali, Louisville, Kentucky. 

Imavov, a member of the UFC’s middleweight fold since October 2010, has proved a tough nut to crack so far in his UFC career — with his only defeats coming early in his UFC run via majority decision to Phil Hawes, and then again early last year in a light heavyweight contest with former UFC world champion Sean Strickland.

Listed among his UFC wins are some well-regarded names: Ian Heinisch, Edmen Shahbazyan and Roman Dolidze — but it was a decision win over Joaquin Buckley in his native France in September 2022 that really made UFC fans sit up and taken notice of the (now) 29-year-old’s potential.

You can check that one out in the video below:

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