Nassourdine Imavov

Overview

Five straight UFC wins, three of them over opponents our model rates as elite. Nassourdine Imavov, "The Sniper," is a Russian-born middleweight fighting out of Venum Training Camp Paris. He is 9-2 in the UFC with one no contest, and 17-4 (1 NC) across all promotions.

His four UFC finishes are all knockouts: three in the second round, one in the fourth. None came in the first round, and none came by submission.

UFC Career

Imavov debuted on October 2, 2020, with a unanimous decision over Jordan Williams. His first UFC loss followed in February 2021, a majority decision against Phil Hawes. Both fights went the distance.

The finishes started in 2021: a second-round TKO of Ian Heinisch in July, then Edmen Shahbazyan stopped at 4:52 of the second round at UFC 268 in November. A decision over Joaquin Buckley in September 2022 made it three wins in a row.

The first main event came in January 2023, a five-round unanimous decision loss to Sean Strickland, who our model rates as a strong opponent. His next fight, against Chris Curtis at UFC 289, ended in a no contest in the second round.

The current run began in February 2024 with a five-round majority decision over Roman Dolidze in a main event. He followed it with a fourth-round TKO of Jared Cannonier in another main event. Then came the three elite names: a unanimous decision over Brendan Allen, a second-round knockout of Israel Adesanya at 0:30, and a five-round unanimous decision over Caio Borralho.

That's five wins in a row, four of them in main events, three against the elite tier. He carries that streak into his next fight.

Fighting Style

Imavov is a sharp, accurate striker who lands a lot and is hard to hit cleanly. Compared with the UFC average, his output is solid and his defense holds up.

He rarely shoots for takedowns, but he is very hard to take down. He also hunts for submissions more than most fighters, even though none of his UFC wins have come that way.

His results match the striking profile. Four of his wins are knockouts, all of them late in fights, with three in round two and one in round four. He has no first-round finishes. The other five wins went to the scorecards, and both of his losses were decisions, so he has never been finished in the UFC.

Notable Wins

• Israel Adesanya — KO/TKO, round 2 (0:30), UFC Fight Night: Adesanya vs Imavov (2025)
• Jared Cannonier — KO/TKO, round 4 (1:34), UFC Fight Night: Cannonier vs Imavov (2024)
• Caio Borralho — unanimous decision, round 5, UFC Fight Night: Imavov vs Borralho (2025)
• Brendan Allen — unanimous decision, round 3, UFC Fight Night: Moicano vs Saint Denis (2024)

Quick Facts

• Division: Middleweight
• UFC record: 9-2 (1 NC)
• Professional record (all promotions): 17-4 (1 NC)
• UFC debut: October 2020
• Stance: Orthodox
• Height / reach: 6'3" / 75"
• Team: Venum Training Camp Paris
• Born: Russia