Joaquin Buckley vs. Nassourdine Imavov is still scheduled to go down later this evening (Sat. Sept. 3, 2022) from inside Accor Arena in Paris, France for UFC Paris, but thanks to some last minute adjusting, a few more eyes will likely catch the Middleweight match up. Originally scheduled for the undercard portion of the night, Buckley and his team have revealed the fight will now take place directly before the co-main event of Robert Whittaker vs. Marvin Vettori.
In the video above, Buckley speaks with his management team about the bout order. They reveal, “I talked with Paul Felder, and right when I was talking with Paul, he was trying to confirm the rumor with me. I didn’t get it, then I got a message from Mick [Maynard], he sent me a graphic of the new fight card, and you’re right before the co-main event.”
“Honestly, Paul was telling me all the things the producers were saying, everybody wondering why this fight was where it was anyways. I think they realize they f—ked up!”
Anyone who routinely watches fight cards top-to-bottom understands there’s often little rhyme or reason behind specific bout placements. Still, this was an especially bizarre case. Imavov is one of the relatively few ranked fighters on the card at No. 12, and Buckley is on a win streak and has an extra bit of popularity from his viral knockout of the century over Impa Kasanganay. Plus, UFC generally likes to place the bigger fighters higher up on the card, and this pair of knockout artists fit the bill since they fight at 185 lbs.
Whatever the initial reason for sticking this match up on the “Prelims” portion of the evening, UFC figured it out just in time! Check out the revised bout order below:
Full UFC Paris Fight Card:
UFC Paris Main Event On ESPN+:
265 lbs.: Ciryl Gane vs. Tai Tuivasa
UFC Paris Main Card On ESPN+ (3 p.m. ET):
185 lbs.: Robert Whittaker vs. Marvin Vettori
185 lbs.: Joaquin Buckley vs. Nassourdine Imavov
185 lbs.: Alessio Di Chirico vs. Roman Kopylov
155 lbs.: Nasrat Haqparast vs. John Makdessi
145 lbs.: Charles Jourdain vs. Nathaniel Wood
UFC Paris Main Card On ESPN+ (12 p.m. ET):
185 lbs.: Abusupiyan Magomedov vs. Dustin Stoltzfus
155 lbs.: Michal Figlak vs. Fares Ziam
155 lbs.: Benoit Saint-Denis vs. Gabriel Miranda
135 lbs.: Khalid Taha vs. Cristian Quinonez
145 lbs.: Ailin Perez vs. Stephanie Egger
145 lbs.: Jarno Errens vs. William Gomis
Remember that MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC Paris fight card right here, starting with the ESPN+ “Prelims” matches, which are scheduled to begin at 12 p.m. ET, then the remaining main card balance on ESPN+ at 3 p.m. ET.
To check out the latest and greatest UFC Paris: “Gane vs. Tuivasa” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here.