The UFC’s return to Kentucky after over a decade has its main event.
After the promotion announced the full card earlier, the headliner is now in place and it will feature middleweight contenders with Jared Cannonier set to take on Nassourdine Imavov.
The five-round bout between Cannonier (17-6 MMA, 10-6 UFC) and Imavov (13-4 MMA, 5-2 UFC) will go down at UFC Fight Night on June 8 at the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville with a main card that airs on ESPN following prelims streamed on ESPN+.
Two people with knowledge of the situation verified the booking with MMA Junkie following an initial report from MMA Mania’s Alex Behunin.
Cannonier, No. 5 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie middleweight rankings, will attempt to continue his run of success after winning four of his past five fights. The 40-year-old has beaten Marvin Vettori and Sean Strickland during that stretch, with his lone blemish coming in a title fight to then-champ Israel Adesanya at UFC 276 in July 2022.
He will have to defend his spot against No. 11-ranked Imavov, who has just one loss in his past six fights dating back to July 2021. The 29-year-old most recently competed in February, where he earned a main event win over Roman Dolidze at UFC Fight Night 235.
With the current June 8 fight card includes:
- Jared Cannonier vs. Nassourdine Imavov
- Roman Dolidze vs. Michel Pereira
- Dustin Jacoby vs. Dominick Reyes
- Raul Rosas Jr. vs. Ricky Turcios
- Miguel Baeza vs. Puna Soriano
- Ludovit Klein vs. Thiago Moises
- Carlos Prates vs. Charlie Radtke
- Brunno Ferreira vs. Dustin Stoltzfus
- John Castaneda vs. Daniel Marcos
- Jesse Butler vs. Brad Katona
- Denise Gomes vs. Eduarda Moura
- Taylor Lapilus vs. Cody Stamann
- Julian Marquez vs. Zach Reese
- Montana De La Rosa vs. Andrea Lee
- Rayanne Amanda vs. Puja Tomar
