Nassourdine Imavov on controversial Jared Cannonier stoppage at UFC Louisville: ‘It was the right decision’

Nassourdine Imavov doesn’t think there should be any controversy with his win over Jared Cannonier . On Saturday, Imavov headlined UFC Louisville against Cannonier, scoring a fourth-round TKO victory , after hurting “The Killa Gorilla” with a right hand and follow-up shots. However, it was a controversial ending as Cannonier never was dropped and was in the act of punching back when referee Jason Herzog intervened.

But Imavov says there shouldn’t be any issue with the stoppage. “Absolutely not,” Imavov said through a translator in his post-fight press conference . “It’s the job of the referee to decide if a fighter is able to keep going or not.

He took already a lot of damage. He would have taken even more if they fight continued. So I think it was the right decision to stop it.

” Up until the finish, Imavov and Cannonier were locked in a competitive, back-and-forth battle. Cannonier started strong early, but the momentum began to shift in the second round as Imavov got more comfortable with the range and timing. Ultimately, that set up the punch that led to the stoppage, and according to Imavov, that was the plan all along.

“It was not the game plan to start too fast,” Imavov said. “I do a lot of five round [fights] now. It’s not the same pace.

In my opinion, I only lost the first round. The other round I started to dominate, at the beginning of the second round..

. “It’s perfect. It was exactly what I was looking for.

I was looking for a finish. .