Nassourdine Imavov secured a controversial fourth-round TKO victory over Jared Cannonier at UFC Louisville, with mixed reactions from fans and fighters regarding the referee’s stoppage.
Nassourdine Imavov may have punched his ticket to the top-five of the UFC’s middleweight division with a fourth-round finish of Jared Cannonier. But there was certainly some controversy.
The ranked middleweights closed the show at Saturday’s UFC Louisville event at the KFC Yum! Center. Imavov picked up a TKO stoppage victory in the fourth round as he had Cannonier wobbled after a big punch. As he poured it on, Cannonier seemed to begin to collect himself before referee Jason Herzog stopped the fight. Much to the chagrin of Cannonier and the fans in Louisville.
After a strong opening round for Cannonier, the momentum seemed to switch towards Imavov at the end of the second round. Through the third and into the fourth, where Imavov picked up the finish.
Following the win, Imavov called for a rematch with Sean Strickland for the UFC’s return to Paris in September. Check out how UFC pros reacted to Imavov’s TKO victory.
“Looking like he’s ready to murder somebody!” tweeted Alan Jouban. “There’s your answer, fingers still going,” added Brian BOOM Kelleher.
“Imavov definitely sticking his fingers out way too much and now I can’t unsee it,” Jouban noted again. “What a HORRIBLE stoppage!!” exclaimed Herbert Burns.
“That stoppage was whack,” Randy Brown chimed in. “I don’t like that stoppage. You gotta let these guys fight longer! He was still in the fight,” Cody Durden argued.
“Man these fans are tryna see death out here apparently because that fight wasn’t going to go any different. Great stoppage by Jason,” said Ode’ Osbourne.
“Best thing to do in a close fight is leave it out of the judges’ hands. Big win for Imavov. Couple seconds early but Cannonier was clearly on his way out,” Miles Chapo Johns observed.
“Early stoppage man respect to Jared all class man didn’t spazz out or nothing,” Terrance McKinney commented. “Eh, I’m OK with the stoppage. Sucks for Cannonier, but the Frenchman landed a beautiful counter, and he looked hurt. Didn’t seem to recover well in the time given. Fair play and good shot to @imavov1. Solid performance against a giant of a competitor,” Chris Curtis The Action Man concluded.
And there you have it. A mix of praise and criticism, reflecting the divided opinions on the stoppage. What a night!