Nassourdine Imavov won the UFC Vegas 85 main event against Roman Dolidze, despite a controversial illegal head kick and a heated exchange with former opponent Chris Curtis, with final scorecards reading 49-44, 48-46 and 47-47, resulting in a majority decision victory for Imavov.
Nassourdine Imavov’s win at UFC Vegas 85 was well-deserved. But, boy, was it riddled with controversy.
The fight started with Imavov almost scoring a first-round finish. He remained the superior striker over five rounds. However, a head kick that landed when Roman Dolidze still had his hand on the canvas nearly cost him the fight.
Referee Herb Dean paused the action. As he attended to Dolidze, Imavov started jawing at Chris Curtis in the corner. Yeah, the former opponents had a bit of a spat.
Dean had to drag Imavov back across the cage. He threatened to disqualify him, but cooler heads prevailed. A point was deducted for the illegal strike, complicating the scoring. Imavov still got the nod, though.
The final scorecards read 49-44, 48-46, and 47-47. Result? A majority decision victory for Imavov. After the fight, he addressed his war of words with Curtis. He referenced their fight at UFC 289, which ended in a no contest due to an accidental clash of heads.
“He talks too much,” Imavov said about Curtis. “In the cage, he didn’t do anything. He complained about a headbutt and couldn’t fight anymore. If you want to fight, it’s in the cage. Outside the cage, shut up.”
Imavov also showed respect to Dolidze. “Huge respect to Roman Dolidze because he got head kicked and kept fighting. Chris Curtis wouldn’t have done that. Dolidze is the man.”
Bad blood aside, Imavov put on a memorable performance. Dolidze struggled throughout the five-round fight.
Imavov displayed laser accuracy with his striking. He kept aiming and firing at Dolidze, who was trying to close the distance and slow the action down. With Dolidze against the cage, Imavov unleashed a vicious combination.
He followed Dolidze to the ground, hammering away with punches. Dolidze kept moving and scrambling, preventing the referee from stopping the fight.
In the fourth round, Dolidze had his hand down on the canvas. Imavov, on his back, threw a vicious kick to the head. Dolidze crumbled, but the kick was deemed illegal.
Dean paused the action and threatened to disqualify Imavov. He was arguing with Dolidze’s coaches in the corner, particularly Curtis. After Dolidze recovered, Dean deducted a point from Imavov for the illegal kick.
With five minutes remaining, Dolidze needed a finish to ensure victory. Both fighters were exhausted. The pace was grueling, with some sloppy exchanges until the fight ended. Imavov still got the win.
Imavov is now 4-1 with one no contest in his past six fights. He’s a tough out for anybody in the middleweight division. He wants to avenge his most recent loss.
“I want to fight against Sean Strickland,” Imavov said. He lost a decision to Strickland in a light heavyweight bout back in January 2023. He’d love to run that back. But, he might see Curtis instead, given their spat on Saturday night.