- Nassourdine Imavov has opened as the -170 betting favorite to beat Sean Strickland (+145) in Saturday’s UFC Vegas 67 main event.
- Imavov has won his last three fights, including a KO win over Ian Heinisch and Edmen Shabahzyan.
- Strickland is looking to get back on track after losing his last two bouts to Alex Pereira and Jared Cannonier.
Change in an opponent? No problem for Nassourdine Imavov, according to the best UFC betting sites.
Imavov had opened as the betting favorite to beat Kelvin Gastelum in the first UFC main event of 2023 this coming Saturday at UFC Vegas 67. However, Gastelum suffered an injury while training, and the TUF 17 winner subsequently underwent oral surgery to “sew back his teeth”. With the event hitting Fight Week, Gastelum was forced to withdraw from the bout.
Fortunately, Sean Strickland agreed to replace Gastelum on less than a week’s notice. Strickland presents a tougher challenge for Imavov as while Gastelum was ranked 13th in the UFC’s 185-pound division, Strickland is in the Top 10.
Still, the top UFC sportsbooks have Imavov as the betting favorite to win the match-up.
According to the online sportsbook BetOnline, Imavov is the -170 favorite to win the fight. Strickland meanwhile, hit the opening betting boards at +145 odds.
Imavov Has Won Three Fights in a Row
Another French fighter gets a winner's circle interview.
Nassourdine Imavov keeps his country undefeated at #UFCParis, as he beats Joaquin Buckley. 🇫🇷
Play-by-play: https://t.co/DeyyrFqCFa pic.twitter.com/NNpyzqZQWt
— MMA Junkie (@MMAJunkie) September 3, 2022
Imavov is the UFC’s no. 12 ranked middleweight. The 27-year-old from Dagestan has won three fights in a row since suffering a narrow majority decision loss to Phil Hawes at UFC Fight Night 185 last February 20, 2021. Imavov finished 2021 with back-to-back knockout wins over Ian Heinisch and Edmen Shahbazyan before scoring a unanimous decision win over Joaquin Buckley in his most recent bout at UFC Fight Night 209 last September in Paris.
A former Thunderstrike Fight League welterweight champion, Imavov started his MMA career at Gladiator Fighting Arena, Fight Night One, Centurion FC, City Cage MMA, Devil’s Cage, and Ares FC before joining the UFC in 2020 as a middleweight. Imavov won his promotional debut against Jordan Williams but was beaten by Hawes in his second Octagon appearance. Overall, he has a record of 12-3 with 5 knockouts and four submission victories.
This marks the fourth time that Imavov has opened with the minus money sign written next to his name in a UFC bout. The Dagestani opened at -190 against Gastelum and was at -225 odds when the fight was called off. In his only UFC loss, Imavov opened as the -105 favorite against Hawes but closed as the +110 bottom dog in that bout.
Strickland Looking to Get Back on Track
Jared Cannonier wins split decision in a back-and-forth battle against Sean Strickland in UFC Vegas 66 main event (@DamonMartin) https://t.co/l9vWZAM4Uk pic.twitter.com/mKhcwVFBi4
— MMAFighting.com (@MMAFighting) December 18, 2022
Meanwhile, Sean Strickland will be trying to get back on track against Imavov. The 31-year-old from New Bern, North Carolina won six fights in a row before losing his last two bouts against Alex Pereira and Jared Cannonier. Strickland was brutally knocked out by Pereira but was narrowly beaten via split decision by Cannonier in the main event of UFC Fight Night 216 last December 17, 2022.
A former KOTC middleweight champion with five successful title defenses, Strickland went 6-3 in his first nine UFC bouts before going undefeated from October 2018 to February 2022. Despite his losses to Pereira and Cannonier, Strickland is still the UFC’s no. 7 ranked middleweight contender. The fighter known as “Tarzan” has a record of 25-5 with 10 knockouts and 4 submission victories.
Strickland is the betting underdog for only the third time in his UFC career. He is 0-2 in his first two bouts with the plus money sign written next to his name. Strickland closed at +245 when he lost to Kamaru Usman at UFC 210 and he was also the +104 bottom dog when he lost to Cannonier in his most recent UFC appearance.
