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Nassourdine Imavov of Russia reacts after his victory against Jared Cannonier in a middleweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event at KFC YUM! Center on June 08, 2024 in Louisville, Kentucky. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)
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Co-Main Event Spotlight | UFC Paris

Take A Close Look At This Matchup Between Top 10 Middleweights

Rising middleweights Brendan Allen and Nassourdine Imavov square off in a pivotal matchup in the co-main event of UFC Paris on Saturday, each looking to solidify themselves as the division's new era of title contenders. 

For much of the last five years, Israel Adesanya has been the constant at the top of the 185-pound weight class, competing in all but one of the last 13 championship fights. Now having lost consecutive title fights, a changing of the guard is underway as Dricus Du Plessis continues his reign with plenty of new blood looking to bring a challenge to the South African champion. 

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Let’s dive deep into this middleweight matchup.

Brendan Allen

At 12-2 in the UFC and 24-5 overall, Allen has put in major work thus far and has certainly earned this opportunity. The Dana White’s Contender Series alum has won seven straight, with five of those ending by rear naked choke, including a stretch of four straight. 

Brendan Allen punches Paul Craig of Scotland in a middleweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event at UFC APEX on November 18, 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)
Brendan Allen punches Paul Craig of Scotland in a middleweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event at UFC APEX on November 18, 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)

In his most recent fight, Allen avenged a loss from earlier in his career by edging out a split decision over veteran Chris Curtis in what was an extremely competitive main event. It showcased his evolution as a fighter to be able to get that one back, and his striking showed improvement. In November 2023, Allen became just the second person to submit Paul Craig. In most instances, Craig’s opponents have been hesitant to grapple at all, but Allen embraced that challenge and eventually got his signature rear naked choke. 

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Allen is a highly talented grappler, positionally dominant, and he mixes control and pressure nicely in his approach. He’s got a variety of different chokes, but prefers where he is dominant, which is typically on someone's back. As a striker, he is developing in each bout, but has the fundamentals down and is a dangerous threat to any opponent who is not alert. 

Nassourdine Imavov

Imavov is 14-4 (1 NC) in his career and 6-2 (1 NC) in the UFC. The Frenchman entered the promotion riding a five-fight win streak, and since then, he has racked up three of his wins by KO and three by decision, showing an ability to win in different ways. 

Nassourdine Imavov of Russia punches Jared Cannonier in a middleweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event at KFC YUM! Center on June 08, 2024 in Louisville, Kentucky. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)
Nassourdine Imavov of Russia punches Jared Cannonier in a middleweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event at KFC YUM! Center on June 08, 2024 in Louisville, Kentucky. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)

In his last outing, Imavov defeated former title challenger Jared Cannonier by TKO in the fourth round. Although it was a jump in competition, he displayed superior skill as time went on and eventually landed a huge right hand that wobbled Cannonier, leading to a flurry of punches to seal the deal. Just prior to the Cannonier fight, Imavov came off his first main event in the UFC against Roman Dolidze. After dropping Dolidze in round one, he essentially controlled the rest of the bout en route to a majority decision win. 

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He comes with a new nickname, “The Sniper,” and it perfectly demonstrates his style. Imavov is an elite long-range striker with a high IQ, and has shown strong grappling skills, specifically with a dangerous ground-and-pound attack.

Meeting in the Middle

Just like in all fights, anything can happen. Allen and Imavov are both highly skilled in all areas of MMA, but in this clash of middleweight contenders, there are certain routes to victory that each fighter should probably lean on. 

FREE FIGHTS: Brendan Allen vs Chris Curtis 2 | Nassourdine Imavov vs Jared Cannonier

For Allen, it will be important for him to bring his usual pressure, but in this fight, he has to be aware of the counters coming his way if he starts to open up too much. Based on most of his career, it is imperative for Allen to at least mix in his grappling throughout the fight and if he is successful there, it could be a telling sign of a great night for him. On the other side, Imavov will look to keep the fight on the feet and at range. He is a phenomenal kickboxer and has shown an ability to stop takedowns at a remarkable 76.9% clip, which ranks ninth among active middleweights. Imavov will want to pick his shots from distance, and if he can defend the early takedown attempts, he will likely have success. 

It is shaping up to be an electric night in Paris and it will be fascinating to see which of these ascending middleweights can solidify themselves in the top five and threaten the champion. 

 

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