Join us here at Bloody Elbow for live results, discussion, and play-by-play (main event) as UFC Vegas 67: Strickland vs. Imavov event goes down from the promotion’s APEX facility in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The main event for this fight night will take place in the light heavyweight division, with late replacement Sean Strickland stepping in for Kelvin Gastelum to meet rising contender Nassourdine Imavov. The bout was supposed to go down at middleweight, but due to the last minute charge Strickland weighed in almost 10 pounds heavier than Imavov. We’ll find out if that makes any difference in the Octagon tonight.
This will be an ESPN+ show but will be kicking off a little earlier than usual. The six-fight preliminary card is scheduled to start at 4pm ET/1pm PT on ESPN+. The five-fight main card is also on ESPN+, and that is supposed to start at 7pm ET/4pm PT. For the areas outside of the United States, you can catch all the scheduled contests on UFC Fight Pass.
Main card:
Sean Strickland vs. Nassourdine Imavov
Round 1 – Strickland closes the distance pretty much immediately. He lands a right over the top. Nice quick left hook from Imavov. He’s controlling the distance now. Strickland with a nice 1-2. Kicks too. Right hook from Imavov. Short elbow from Strickland. Light inside leg kick. Imavov wades in but doesn’t lands. Strickland lands a counter in the next exchange. He’s bringing the pressure now. They both miss with big shots. Strickland pushes his opponent to the cage wall. Not for long, they break. Front kick from Imavov. Short left from Strickland. Big right hook. Wild right from Imavov lands glancingly, Strickland is countering better. 10-9 Strickland.
Round 2 – Slow start, mostly just low kicks and teeps. Strickland ties Imamov up against the cage and lands inside. They break, and Strickland lands the last punch of a combo. Imavov clips him back. They trade. Strickland ducks under and lands a nice trip takedown, but Imamov pops up right away. They battle on the fence. They trade rights. Clinch. Strickland lands on the break. They both swing and miss. Imamov connects, and Strickland pushes him to the fence. They break and Imavov lands a short shot. Close, but I’ll go 10-9 Strickland.
Round 3 – Strickland with a combo. Imamov returns fire but eats a counter. Imavov looks a bit gunshy now. Strickland isn’t overwhelming him, it’s just a bit slow. Strickland is touching him with inside leg kicks and teeps. Strickland with a counter left. There isn’t a lot goin on here. Strickland clinches but Imavov breaks it immediately. Imamov spins but Strickland blocks it. 10-9 Strickland.
Round 4 – Strickland lands a straight right. He goes body head. Another right. Both throw and miss. Front kick to the body from Strickland, and a jab. Nice jab from Imamov. Low kicks. Strickland with a quick left. Right from Imamov. Strickland lands to the body. Much better pace than the last round. Takedown attempt from Strickland but nada. They battle on the fence. Imamov reverses and lands an elbow on the break. 1-2 from Strickland. Imamov circles away. Strickland with a counter combo. Nice jab. Another 1-2. 10-9 Strickland.
Round 5 – They trade short shots. Nice lean-in right from Imavov as Strickland retreats. Imamov with two counters. Strickland puts Imamov on the fence. He backs off as Imamov throws big elbows. Back to the clinch. Imamov with a knee to the body and a short right. Wide left hook from Imavov. Strickland ties him up again. Back to the center. Both men are a little tired, and their lack of accuracy is showing that. Short elbow from Imavov as Strickland tries to tie him up. Nice left from Strickland. Imavov with another knee to the body. He lands a short right hook. Uppercut. Strickland just trying to bring him in close. 10-9 Imavov but 49-46 Strickland.
Sean Strickland defeated Nassourdine Imavov via unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 48-47)
Dan Ige defeated Damon Jackson via KO (punches), 4:13 of round 2
Roman Kopylov defeated Puna Soriano via TKO (strikes), 3:19 of round 1
Raquel Pennington defeated Ketlen Vieira via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Umar Nurmagomedov defeated Raoni Barcelos via KO (punch), :44 of round 1
Preliminary Card
Javid Basharat defeated Mateus Mendonca via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
Abdul Razak Alhassan defeated Claudio Ribeiro via KO (punch), :28 of round 2
Mateusz Rebecki defated Nick Fiore via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-27, 30-27)
Allan Nascimento defeated Carlos Hernandez via submission (rear naked choke), 3:16 of round 1
Daniel Argueta defeated Nick Aguirre via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Charles Johnson defeated Jimmy Flick via TKO (strikes)
, 4:33 of round 1