UFC Louisville 2024 Results: Imavov Takes Cannonier's Ranking With 4th Round Stoppage; Reyes Returns in Style

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Nassourdine Imavov jumped in the middleweight rankings after stoppage win over Jared Cannonier in the headliner of UFC Louisville 2024: Cannonier vs. Imavov event which took place at the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Kentucky on Sunday (June 9).

In their second visit to Louisville and first in almost 13 years, the KFC Yum! Center recorded the highest grossing sports event and the record grossing Fight Night event with an attendance of 19,578 and gate collection of over USD 2.50million.

5 of 6 fights on the main card, including the main event on the night finished in stoppages, while 7 of 8 fights went the distance on the preliminary card. In total 6 fights ended in stoppages with 5 being either knockout (KO) or technical knockout (TKO) and 1 submission finish.

While there was no fight of the night awarded, four fighters - Raul Rosas Jr., Zachary Reese, Brunno Ferreira and Carlos Prates bagged performance bonuses for their respective stoppage wins. Here is a look at the recap and results of UFC Fight Night: Cannonier vs. Imavov:

UFC Louisville 2024 Recap

In the main event of UFC Louisville (also known as UFC on ESPN 57), middleweight contenders No. 4 ranked Cannonier and No. 8 ranked Imavov engaged with all their skills for four out of five rounds.

Cannonier racked up damaging leg kicks while Imavov returned wobbling combinations. Imavov had Cannonier on the run and the referee waived off the fight, giving the Frenchman the jump up in the rankings.

After the win, Imavov said, "I have a lot of experience in five round fights, so I knew how to pace myself. The goal was to accelerate during the fight in order to finish him at one point. My goal is to get the belt for me, for my family, for everyone around me.

"I just had a victory, especially a guy against a guy like Jared Cannonier who has never been stopped in the division. I'd like to fight Sean Strickland in Paris. Sean Strickland, if you want to do it, come to Paris and we're going to fight together."

In the co-main event, two-time UFC light heavyweight title challenger Dominick Reyes came back after nearly a two-year lay-off in blazing form by knocking out Dustin Jacoby fast in the first round.

After getting the stunning win, Reyes said, "It's been a long time coming. I feel amazing. I'm the best light heavyweight in the world. I've always been. I'm just so blessed to have the team that I have.

"I'm doing all this for you people, so I can put on a show! I work extremely hard. More than anything it's fun in here, I got to enjoy this moment. Second half of the year I'm going to be back."

Reyes, who snapped a four-match losing streak also revealed some personal news: "I just got engaged... I'm going to start a family, so this is going to help tremendously. We're in the KFC Center, where's the fried chicken at?!"

Also on the main card, Raul Rosas Jr., Brunno Ferreira and Zachary Reese claimed stoppage wins in their respective bouts, while Punahele Soriano earned the lone decision win in the main card opener.

Soriano dove into the welterweight to dominate Miguel Baeza with ground and pound. In the first round, Baeza chased leg locks and heel hooks, but it was one-way traffic in the second and third, as Soriano kept Baeza on the canvas punched his way to a unanimous decision victory.

"I felt so good. I could never wrestle like that at '85 (light heavyweight), those guys are way too big. I'm probably going to (drink) some (Kentucky) bourbon tonight!," Soriano said after the fight.

History was made on the preliminary card as India's Puja Tomar defeated Rayanne dos Santos to become the first from her country to win in the UFC. Tomar earned a split decision win in the event opener, which also marked her UFC debut. Here is a look at the final results of UFC Louisville:

UFC Louisville 2024 Results

• Middleweight Bout: Nassourdine Imavov defeated Jared Cannonier by TKO (strikes) at 1:34 of Round 4
• Light Heavyweight Bout: Dominick Reyes defeated Dustin Jacoby by KO (strikes) at 2:00 of Round 1
• Bantamweight Bout: Raul Rosas Jr. defeated Ricky Turcios by submission (rear-naked choke) at 2:22 of Round 2
• Middleweight Bout: Brunno Ferreira defeated Dustin Stoltzfus by TKO (spinning back elbow) at 4:51 of Round 1
• Middleweight Bout: Zachary Reese defeated Julian Marquez TKO (uppercut) at 0:20 of Round 1
• Welterweight Bout: Punahele Soriano defeated Miguel Baeza by unanimous decision (30-25, 30-25, 30-27)
• Lightweight Bout: Ludovit Klein defeated Thiago Moises by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Welterweight Bout: Carlos Prates defeated Charles Radtke by TKO (knee to liver) at 4:47 of Round 1
• Women's Flyweight Bout: Montana De La Rosa (29-28, 29-28) defeated Andrea Lee by split decision (29-28)
• Bantamweight Bout: Brad Katona defeated Jesse Butler by unanimous decision (30-26, 30-27, 30-27)
• Bantamweight Bout: Daniel Marcos defeated John Castañeda by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Women's Strawweight Bout: Denise Gomes (30-27, 30-27) defeated Eduarda Moura (29-28) by split decision
• Bantamweight Bout: Taylor Lapilus defeated Cody Stamann by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Women's Strawweight Bout: Puja Tomar (30-27, 29-28) defeated Rayanne dos Santos by split decision (30-27)