Oh, the Ultimate Fighting Championship, folks! They’re sticking to their guns with middleweight main events, and not just in Vegas.
April brought us a press release spilling the beans on UFC Louisville, or as the cool kids call it, UFC on ESPN 57. This showdown’s happening at the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Kentucky. They confirmed a bunch of fights we already knew about and surprised us with a few more.
So, here’s the scoop. Dominick Reyes and Dustin Jacoby are set to light up the light heavyweight co-main event. Meanwhile, Andrea Lee and Montana De La Rosa are gearing up to dazzle us in the early prelims at flyweight.
Then, out of the blue, MMA Mania let slip that the main event’s gonna be a 185-pound clash between Jared Cannonier and Nassourdine Imavov. This bout on June 8 got the thumbs up from several outlets by Thursday.
Cannonier’s stepping back into the spotlight for the first time in almost a year. Last time, he snagged a decision win over Marvin Vettori in Vegas. The guy’s on a two-win streak, which is pretty neat considering his history.
Now, let’s chat about Imavov. After a bumpy 2023, he bounced back with a win over Roman Dolidze in February. Before that, he had a bit of a headbutt incident with Chris Curtis that ended in a no contest. Both these fighters have finish rates hovering around 70%, which is nothing to sneeze at.
The Reyes vs. Jacoby co-main is a bit of a heartbreaker, with both fighters having a rough go lately. Reyes is on a four-fight skid since barely losing to Jon Jones in 2020. Jacoby, on the other hand, managed to snag a win last August.
And don’t get me started on the flyweights. Lee and De La Rosa are in a bit of a slump, but they’re looking to recreate their 2019 fight where Lee came out on top.