Who’s next for Nassourdine Imavov? – 3 potential opponents
While he may not have gotten a finish as he hoped, Nassourdine Imavov managed to notch a majority decision victory over Roman Dolidze and potentially put himself in the top ten of the UFC’s middleweight division. The future is bright for Imavov and now we must looks at what is next for the Frenchman. Let’s look at three possible opponents.
The Rematch: Nassourdine Imavov vs. Chris Curtis 2
There is no love lost between Nassourdine Imavov and Chris Curtis. The two fought in June of last year which ended in a no contest due to a headbutt on Imavov’s part. Imavov and Curtis have a beef going back to that fight and Curtis was not shy to call him out on X.
https://twitter.com/actionman513/status/1753978219676786794?s=46&t=FdaHFlY3XzuSJPynI0WBtA
The drama from the fight last night stemmed from Curtis and Imavov’s beef. After fouling Dolidze by kicking him in the head as he was downed, Imavov and the corner got into it and had referee Herb Dean threatening to disqualify him.
With the no contest and beef that was seen from last night, it would be nice to get some closure on that unfinished business.
Up in the rankings: Jared Cannonier
Originally, Jared Cannonier was to fight Roman Dolidze last December. Then he tore an MCL and was sidelined for some time. Now that he’s in recovery, Cannonier is starting to call out some names for his return. While not mentioned directly, Nassourdine Imavov is one of those fighters that can be in the running for a Cannonier fight.
Of course, Imavov just beat Cannonier’s originally scheduled opponent in Roman Dolidze. Now Imavov is looking to fight up. He called out Sean Strickland, who beat him in January 2023, but Strickland is a bit high up in the rankings for him. Instead, Cannonier would be the primary pick. Cannonier is ranked fourth and is on a two fight winning streak.
But with Dricus Du Plessis, Strickland, and Israel Adesanya crowding the top, Cannonier could be out for a bit longer than he’d like. Imavov is the guy for the job if that’s the case.
The Wild Card: Kelvin Gastelum
Nassourdine Imavov and Kelvin Gastelum were to fight in January 2023 before Gastelum had a mouth injury. Since then, Gastelum has a win over Chris Curtis and a loss to Sean Brady last December at 170.
Kelvin Gastelum is between a rock and a hard place when it comes to 170 and 185. He’s never fighting for a title again. As he’s so late in his career, he’s gone on a 2-6 run dating back to 2019. Losing to Brady, he’s now stuck fighting for monetary reasons instead of for title and glory.
With he and Imavov being booked once upon a time, it may be time to come back and get that fight rolling while the love triangle at the top of 185 sorts itself out.
