Photo Credit UFC

UFC Saudi Arabia, Imavov Proves he’s a Major player at Middleweight

The changing of the guard in the UFC Middleweight division is well underway.

The speed, the activity, the focus is all look to still very present from Israel Adesanya. The former champion looked to be very pleased with his effectiveness in the first round. All of a sudden off a Adesanya stance switch Nassourdine Imavov landed a massive overhand right. The kind of shot Adesanaya would have avoided in his prime. But this one landed perfectly. A follow up left hook sent the former two-time champion from his knees to face down. The follow up strikes from Imavov while on “The Last Stylebender’s” back earn the stoppage and biggest win of his career. 

While it remains to be seen if the win impressed the UFC brass enough for Imavov to leapfrog over Khamzat Chiamev, who many feel will be next for the winner of the UFC Middleweight title between Dricus Du Plessi & Sean Strickland at UFC 312. There’s definitely an argument to be made for Imavov and his four straight wins over ranked competitors in the last 12-month, to get the next crack at the title.  

Ethier way with former champion Robert Whittaker & Isreal Adesanya going down to top contenders 185 lbs. is now a vastly different landscape.

Moving up to Middleweight there was a question about how MVP would transition. His speed transitioned seamlessly. Page’s bounce and blitz confusing Shara Magomedov as his straight punches found their mark. After the decision win Michael “Venom” page said his sight were on returning to Welterweight while Magomedov revealed on Instagram that he fought with a “nightmarish health condition”.

Sergei Pavlovich stopped the bleeding of a two-fight skid defeating Jairzinho Rozenstruik by unanimous decision, but the performance did little to restore faith in the court of public opinion. The Russian was a boogie man racking up first round knockouts before his skid. Having to turn to his wrestling in what most hoped would be a fire fight, to out work Jairzinho Rozenstruik was not what the doctor ordered.

Vinicius Oliveria should be closing in on a spot in the ranking after a third straight win to start out his UFC career. While Oliveria had to survive an early assault that saw Said Nurmagomedov throw the kitchen sink at the Brazilian. Oliveria’s plan to continually pressure and wing hooks broke down the fighter from Dagestan over the final ten minutes.

 No one could have predicted that strikers like Fares Ziam & Mike Davis would engage in a grappling match but that’s what we got. Ziam showing he can do it all, getting on top and showing his ground and pound. The Frenchman also displayed ridiculous flexibility surviving having his leg bent back in a way that many would have tapped from. A fifth win in a row gives Ziam the third longest win streak in the UFC Lightweight division.

Mukammad Naimov rebound from his first loss in the UFC with a unanimous decision over Kann Ofli. Naimov stuffed Ofli’s takedowns and landed excellent counter striking to take the decision. Shamil Gaziev scored a walk out knockout win separating Thomas Peterson from his senses with a straight right hand. A more composed Terrance McKinney picked his punching sting and forcing Damir Hadzovic into shooting a takedown. McKinney swept Hadzovic with guillotine, took the back and punched to the finish.

Jasmine Jasudavicius swept the scorecards over former Bantamweight title challenger Mayra Bueno Silva. Silva sold out for chokes leaving her trapped on bottom absorbing offense. Jasudavicius is now on a five-fight win streak. The relentless wrestling of Bogdan Grad wore down Lucas Alexnader to where he scored a second round TKO from the ground & pound. And at Heavyweight Hanmdy Abdelwahab took a very disputable split decision over Jamal Pogues.

About The Author

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *