UFC Paris: Imavov vs Buckley
The UFC makes history this upcoming Saturday with title contender Ciryl Gane and fan favorite Tai Tuivasa headlining the organization’s first event in Paris, France. In 2016 the French Sports Ministry put a 15 year ban on the sport of Mixed Martial Arts due to its “dangerous nature” and lack of regulation. Just one year before France native Ciryl Gane fought for the heavyweight title, the 15 year ban was lifted and the sport was brought under regulation by the French Boxing Federation.
Fast forward to 2022, not only does France have a heavyweight fighter at the top of the rankings, we are now seeing more prospects come forward in the UFC, including 27 year old Nassourdine Imavov. Imavov, currently ranked #10 in the middleweight division, is primarily known as a striker with 5 TKO/KO finishes on his record of 11-3. His last two wins in the UFC were round 2 TKO finishes. Imavov lost his pro debut in February of 2016 but showed his dog mentality by going on to fight in March AND April of that year, winning both fights by first round submission. Like his teammate Ciryl Gane, Imavov has extremely quick hands and a 56% striking accuracy according to his UFC stats. Imavov has found himself in a bit of trouble being controlled against the fence, but he has proven it is not an easy task to get him down to the ground with his takedown defense at a solid 72%. Nassourdine is a patient fighter most often using the first round to read his opponent, but as soon as he finds his range, we see him breaking down his opponent by using his jab, knees and elbows often. Despite his decision loss to Phil Hawes in 2021, Imavov has impressed the fans by winning every other fight he has been in since and in dominant fashion.
Fan favorite Joaquin Buckley is a history maker himself as the holder of one of the UFC’s most viral knockouts ever with over 3 million views on Youtube. Buckley has held up his momentum quite well carrying a 3 fight win streak into his fight versus Imavov. Although Buckley is not a ranked fighter nor a native of France, he is the betting favorite in this match up. Buckley is a true knockout artist with 11 of his 15 wins coming by TKO/KO and 0 wins by submission. He may be fairly young at 28 years of age but he began fighting as an amateur back in 2013, winning his amateur debut by decision and making his pro debut a year later. Buckley went on to win 6 fights in a row with 5 of those wins via TKO/KO and his first loss coming in 2016, two years after going pro. Buckley’s fights are always highly anticipated due to his “finish or be finished” mentality.
The Breakdown & Prediction
Don’t blink.. This is an exciting speed versus power match up. Buckley and Imavov both mentioned securing the knockout in their pre-fight interviews this week and with 16 combined finishes between the two strikers, I believe we will see exactly that. Although the technique of Imavov is quite sharp, Buckley fights in a southpaw stance leaving the perfect opening for Imavov to be hit with a left hand and kicks to the body by Buckley, both strikes that he tends to successfully throw often against orthodox fighters. Imavov is significantly taller than Buckley with a 6 inch height advantage, but it should also be noted that Buckley has a one inch reach advantage over Imavov despite the height difference. I think this fight will take place on the feet and I highly doubt it goes all three rounds. Although Imavov is ranked significantly above Buckley, I believe we will see Buckley make his way to the rankings with a TKO/KO finish over Imavov this Saturday. This is a matchup you don’t want to miss!
Prediction:
Joaquin Buckley via TKO/KO
(Please note: This prediction is not associated with the MMAPlay365 packages, subscriptions or services)