Tag: Nassourdine Imavov

EXCLUSIVE | Nassourdine Imavov Targets Title Contention By The End Of 2022

Nassourdine ImavovNassourdine Imavov is hoping he’ll enjoy a great year that will put him in line for a shot at the UFC middleweight title currently held by Israel Adesanya. The MMA Factory product is set for his first fight of 2022 on April 9 when he takes on former title contender Kelvin Gastelum at UFC 273. […]

Nassourdine Imavov

Nassourdine Imavov is hoping he’ll enjoy a great year that will put him in line for a shot at the UFC middleweight title currently held by Israel Adesanya.

The MMA Factory product is set for his first fight of 2022 on April 9 when he takes on former title contender Kelvin Gastelum at UFC 273.

During a recent interview with LowKickMMA, Imavov insisted that he isn’t sleeping on Gastelum but is planning to go through him on his journey towards a shot at UFC gold.

“Gastelum is a very tough opponent, you can’t sleep on him,” Imavov said via his coach/translator Fernand Lopez. “But that’s a good opponent to go and seek a bonus victory.

“He is a very good opponent, but we know how we can deal with him,” Imavov added. “There’s things that we’ve managed to create that we cannot disclose yet, but we have a game plan. We know how we are going to go in there and how we can beat him, we’ll be working on that.

Nassourdine Imavov Wants To Stay Busy 2022

All being well at UFC 273, Imavov is hoping that he can stay active and continue to fight top opponents in order to position himself towards the top of the 185lb division by the end of the year.

“I would like to fight as much as I can,” Imavov said. “If I’m healthy and you give me the opportunity to fight five times this year, I will fight five times. I really want to go for that belt.”

“My goal is to get there by the end of 2022 or the beginning of 2023,” Imavov continued. “I really want to be there in the discussion for the title.

Imavov is coming off successive TKO wins over Ian Heinisch and Edmen Shahbazyan. The 26-year-old is currently ranked #12 in the middleweight division heading into the biggest fight of his career against Gastelum.

Do you think Nassourdine Imavov is a future middleweight champion?

Kelvin Gastelum vs. Nassourdine Imavov Targeted For UFC 273 On April 9

Middleweight contenders Kelvin Gastelum and Nassourdine Imavov are set to collide at UFC 273 on April 9.

In the latest of a string of additions to 2022’s fourth pay-per-view card, former interim title challenger Gastelum and rising Frenchman Imavov…

Kelvin Gastelum, Nassourdine Imavov

Middleweight contenders Kelvin Gastelum and Nassourdine Imavov are set to collide at UFC 273 on April 9.

In the latest of a string of additions to 2022’s fourth pay-per-view card, former interim title challenger Gastelum and rising Frenchman Imavov will clash with a place in the 185-pound top 10 on the line, per ESPN MMA’s Brett Okamoto.

In his first appearance of 2022, Gastelum will be in desperate need of a rebound win. Since a Fight of the Year interim championship fight with Israel Adesanya in 2019, The Ultimate Fighter 17 winner has struggled for form and consistency.

Defeats to Darren Till, Jack Hermansson, Robert Whittaker, and Jared Cannonier since UFC 236 have left Gastelum with a 1-5 record in his last six Octagon outings. His sole victory in that period came against the unranked Ian Heinisch last February.

Imavov, meanwhile, is going in the opposite direction on the middleweight ladder. Whilst his upcoming opponent has slipped to #10 in the rankings, the Dagestan-born French fighter has risen into the top 15 thanks to back-to-back wins against Heinisch and Edmen Shahbzayan.

Against “The Golden Boy” at UFC 268 last November, the “Russian Sniper” established himself as a contender with a brutal TKO from the crucifix position.

On April 9, Gastelum will be looking to return the win column and begin his ascent back to the top. Despite his veteran status in the promotion, the Californian is still only 30 and has plenty of time to resurrect his ambitions in the UFC.

For Imavov, who is five years Gastelum’s younger, this matchup represents the chance for him to break into the middleweight top 10 and take a big step further towards title contention, something the MMA Factory product will hope to welcome in with open arms at UFC 273.

Listed below are the fights expected to take place at UFC 273:

Alexander Volkanovski (C) vs. The Korean Zombie (featherweight title fight)

Aljamain Sterling (C) vs. Petr Yan (IC) (bantamweight unification title fight)

Kelvin Gastelum vs. Nassourdine Imavov (middleweight)

Mackenzie Dern vs. Tecia Torres (women’s strawweight)

Mickey Gall vs. Mike Malott (welterweight)

Irene Aldana vs. Aspen Ladd (women’s bantamweight)

Pat Sabatini vs. Gavin Tucker (featherweight)

Who do you think will have their hand raised at UFC 273, Kelvin Gastelum or Nassourdine Imavov?

Continue Reading Kelvin Gastelum vs. Nassourdine Imavov Targeted For UFC 273 On April 9 at MMA News.

Nassourdine Imavov Slices Through Edmen Shahbazyan With Crucifix Elbows – UFC 268 Highlights

Nassourdine ImavovFactory MMA trainee, Nassourdine Imavov continues to impress in the UFC — handing the highly-touted, Edmen Shahbazyan his third consecutive loss following a series of slicing and slashing elbows from the mounted crucifix position late in the second round of his late preliminary card opener at UFC 268. Threatening with a series of submission attempts […]

Nassourdine Imavov

Factory MMA trainee, Nassourdine Imavov continues to impress in the UFC — handing the highly-touted, Edmen Shahbazyan his third consecutive loss following a series of slicing and slashing elbows from the mounted crucifix position late in the second round of his late preliminary card opener at UFC 268.

Threatening with a series of submission attempts before the eventual finish, Imavov, under the tutelage of the renowned, Fernand Lopez, looked to latch onto a trio of anaconda and D’Arce chokes as well as a high elbow guillotine, ultimately to no avail

As Shahbazyan attempted to secure his own guillotine by pulling guard, Imavov scrambled and eventually moved to a mounted crucifix position, continually opening up Shahbazyan with a series of slashing elbow strikes.

Below, catch the highlights from Imavov’s stoppage victory over Shahbazyan.

EXCLUSIVE | Nassourdine Imavov Wants Ngannou vs. Gane In Paris

Nassourdine Imavov Nassourdine Imavov wants to see the upcoming heavyweight unification fight between Francis Ngannou and Ciryl Gane take place in France. Imavov and Gane both train at MMA Factory in Paris. Ngannou was a former teammate of both men before relocating his camp to the USA. The sport was recently made legal in France. Imavov tells LowKickMMA […]

Nassourdine Imavov 

Nassourdine Imavov wants to see the upcoming heavyweight unification fight between Francis Ngannou and Ciryl Gane take place in France.

Imavov and Gane both train at MMA Factory in Paris. Ngannou was a former teammate of both men before relocating his camp to the USA.

The sport was recently made legal in France. Imavov tells LowKickMMA that its people have a great appetite for big MMA shows.

“I really believe that the French audience is ready for the big show,” Imavov said. “I mean, since the legalization [of MMA in France] we’ve had like maybe four, to six shows in France and all the shows sold out.”

Imavov says Gane’s recent interim title win has catapulted MMA fandom in France to a new level.

“Especially since the last win of Cyril Gane,” Imavov said. “I mean, everything is crazy in Paris. Everyone that I’m crossing, everyone I’m talking with, everyone is speaking about MMA. I mean, around me it’s all MMA. So yeah, I believe that first of all having the French-speaking Francis [Ngannou] getting the title, becoming a champ had people very focused on MMA. But when Cyril [Gane] won that belt, jeez! It was crazy in Paris. That was crazy all around France. So, people are really pumped. I mean there’s the Olympic games and the transfer of (Lionel) Messi (to PSG) that brought a little bit of a shadow on the belt of Cyril Gane. But still, everyone is talking about the [UFC] belt in France.”

For Imavov, Ngannou vs. Gane simply must take place in Paris.

“That fight will go down as one of the best combat fights in France. Having these two huge men, champs, coming from the same gym, MMA Factory, in Paris. And have them fight for the belt in Paris? That’s crazy. Everything will be settled in the place where everything started. So that would be huge.”

Do you agree with Nassourdine Imavov? Should Francis Ngannou vs. Ciryl Gane take place in Paris?

EXCLUSIVE | Nassourdine Imavov Wants Ngannou vs. Gane In Paris

Nassourdine Imavov Nassourdine Imavov wants to see the upcoming heavyweight unification fight between Francis Ngannou and Ciryl Gane take place in France. Imavov and Gane both train at MMA Factory in Paris. Ngannou was a former teammate of both men before relocating his camp to the USA. The sport was recently made legal in France. Imavov tells LowKickMMA […]

Nassourdine Imavov 

Nassourdine Imavov wants to see the upcoming heavyweight unification fight between Francis Ngannou and Ciryl Gane take place in France.

Imavov and Gane both train at MMA Factory in Paris. Ngannou was a former teammate of both men before relocating his camp to the USA.

The sport was recently made legal in France. Imavov tells LowKickMMA that its people have a great appetite for big MMA shows.

“I really believe that the French audience is ready for the big show,” Imavov said. “I mean, since the legalization [of MMA in France] we’ve had like maybe four, to six shows in France and all the shows sold out.”

Imavov says Gane’s recent interim title win has catapulted MMA fandom in France to a new level.

“Especially since the last win of Cyril Gane,” Imavov said. “I mean, everything is crazy in Paris. Everyone that I’m crossing, everyone I’m talking with, everyone is speaking about MMA. I mean, around me it’s all MMA. So yeah, I believe that first of all having the French-speaking Francis [Ngannou] getting the title, becoming a champ had people very focused on MMA. But when Cyril [Gane] won that belt, jeez! It was crazy in Paris. That was crazy all around France. So, people are really pumped. I mean there’s the Olympic games and the transfer of (Lionel) Messi (to PSG) that brought a little bit of a shadow on the belt of Cyril Gane. But still, everyone is talking about the [UFC] belt in France.”

For Imavov, Ngannou vs. Gane simply must take place in Paris.

“That fight will go down as one of the best combat fights in France. Having these two huge men, champs, coming from the same gym, MMA Factory, in Paris. And have them fight for the belt in Paris? That’s crazy. Everything will be settled in the place where everything started. So that would be huge.”

Do you agree with Nassourdine Imavov? Should Francis Ngannou vs. Ciryl Gane take place in Paris?

EXCLUSIVE | Nassourdine Imavov Eyes 185lb Top Five After Edmen Shahbazyan

Nassourdine Imavov Nassourdine Imavov believes an impressive win over Edmen Shahbazyan on November 6 at UFC 268 will catapult him into middleweight title contention. ‘The Russian Sniper’ picked up the biggest victory of his career last time out when he stopped Ian Heinisch inside two rounds at UFC Vegas 32. Imavov was quickly booked in another big fight, […]

Nassourdine Imavov 

Nassourdine Imavov believes an impressive win over Edmen Shahbazyan on November 6 at UFC 268 will catapult him into middleweight title contention.

‘The Russian Sniper’ picked up the biggest victory of his career last time out when he stopped Ian Heinisch inside two rounds at UFC Vegas 32.

Imavov was quickly booked in another big fight, this time against Shahbazyan who despite his two-fight losing streak remains one of the most exciting prospects at 185lbs.

In a recent interview with LowKickMMA, the 26-year-old revealed that he and his team have already identified weaknesses in Shahbazyan’s game that can be exploited at UFC 268.

“We already have the game plan on the paper,” Imavov said via his translator Fernand Lopez. “We know what we’re going to do and, we are working to try to bring him to [a true] MMA fight. I’m not going to go there and [just] try to look for a striking [match], or for a wrestling [match], or for a grappling [match]. What I will do is bring him into [an] MMA [fight] and, we think that we know a couple of his weaknesses that we will exploit.”

Nine of Shahbazyan’s 11 wins have come by knockout, but Imavov hinted that his plan is to exchange striking techniques with Ronda Rousey’s prodigy.

“I’m mostly [striking] because I’m a showman, I’m an actual man. I want the fans to be satisfied with the show,” Imavov said. “I will bring the heat on the feet anyway because he’s a good striker. I’m a good one [striker]. And I’m looking to win the fight, but also I want to put on a good show so I can be noticed and get rewarded by fighting a better fighter every time.”

If the fight goes as planned, Imavov expects to be recognized as a true contender at middleweight. He predicts his next bout will come against somebody ranked in the top five.

“It always depends on how the fight ends, how the fight goes, you know, with the style of the fight. But I believe that after the fight people [will] start to really talk about me as a contender,” Imavov said. “I really believe that after that fight, if I sent a good message, as I intend to do, I will be challenging the top five guy. And probably I will be in the running [winning] for the next year for a [a shot at the] strap. I will be trying to be in the [title] discussion.”

How do you think Nassourdine Imavov vs. Edmen Shahbazyan will play out?