Much has been made about how the main event of Saturday's UFC card went down.
Nassouddin Imavov defeated Jared Cannonier in a middleweight bout on the headline event at UFC on ESPN 57, which took place at the KFC Yum Center in Louisville, Kentucky.
Imavov (14-4 MMA, 6-2 UFC) wobbled Cannonier (17-7 MMA, 10-7 UFC) in the fourth round and went for the finish, in the process causing referee Jason Herzog to stop the fight. Cannonier was injured, but he still got up, covered himself up and tried to recover. Cannonier expressed his displeasure at the stoppage, and many online expressed their displeasure.
Imavov believes it was the right decision.
“It's the referee's job to decide if a fighter can continue or not,” Imavov told reporters during the post-fight press conference at UFC on ESPN 57. “He took a lot of damage and he would have taken even more damage if the fight had continued, so I think it was the right decision to stop the fight.”
Imavov is currently on a two-fight win streak since losing to former UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland. Imavov wants to revisit that bout and is hoping to face Strickland in his UFC return scheduled for September in Paris.
“Sean Strickland is right in front of me. I've already fought him at light heavyweight, so I want to get revenge at middleweight.”
For more on the card, check out MMA Junkie's UFC on ESPN 57 event hub.
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