THE UFC heads to Louisville this weekend, birthplace of Muhammad Ali and Kentucky Fried Chicken, in the hope of yielding a fresh middleweight title contender.

With new champion Dricus du Plessis presently unmatched, former champ Sean Strickland labouring to a dour points win last week, and 185lb star Israel Adesanya taking a sabbatical, the door at 185lb remains ajar.

A statement performance in the American Southeast on Saturday night from either Jared Cannonier or Nassourdine Imavov could bring them into the title conversation.

The other names in the frame, former champ Robert Whittaker and Dagestani sensation Khamzat Chimaev, fight in Saudi Arabia at the end of the month, offering this weekend’s victor the chance to lay an early claim at a title shot.

 

THE KILLA GORILLA

Texas cowboy Cannonier, 40, has fought for UFC gold before, extending Adesanya the full five rounds only to lose out on points in the summer of 2022.

That was only his second loss since moving to middleweight in 2018, where he’s built up a solid 7-2 run of form that includes no less than eight ranked opponents.

A former heavyweight, Cannonier (17-6) is renown for his big power, having stopping 11 of his first 13 victims, but he’s also a very cerebral and reflective athlete.

An MCL tear has kept him out of the Octagon for almost a year now, which is a shame after two big points decisions over Strickland and Marvin Vettori since his title defeat.

THE RUSSIAN SNIPER

Despite being a former welterweight, six-foot-three Imavov will actually have the natural size advantage over Cannonier, as well as being 11 years younger.

Born in Dagestan, Russia, his family moved to France when he was nine before he and his brother moved to Paris to chase their MMA dreams as teenagers.

He went 8-2 before signing with the UFC in 2020 and his 5-2-1 former since doesn’t tell the true story of his Octagon campaign.

He was unlucky to run out of time against Phil Hawes in his first defeat, while last year’s loss to Strickland – which set the latter on the road to the championship – was taken as a last-minute replacement.

 

Even the draw against Chris Curtis last summer came from an accidental clash of heads.

Most importantly, he arrives in Kentucky on the back of a huge win over ranked and fancied Roman Dolidze in February, in which he critically won over five rounds for the first time.

                     

SECRET FORMULA

With the potential for a middleweight title shot reward for a viral finish, expect both Cannonier and Imavov to be head hunting from the opening bell.

He may be slowing a little, but the workrate from Cannonier against Vettori last time out topped the UFC’s middleweight significant strikes landed stats with 241 over 25 mins.

Imavov also looks revitalised under new head coach Nicolas Ott, however, and insists he’s more than acquitted to unload in high volume should the matchup descend into a fist fight.

He’s been talking about knocking out ‘The Killa Gorilla’ all week, but anything less than calculated pressure from the Frenchman will see him stirring up at the stars long before the veteran.

With so much on the line, both fighters will need to dig deep and ride some rocky moments, but experience will become a key factor in the critical closing stages.

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