UFC Fight Night results, highlights: Nasourdin Imavov beats Roman Dolidze for important win

There were some ups and downs along the way, but Nasordin Imavov was able to outpoint Roman Dolidze en route to a majority decision victory in Saturday’s UFC Fight Night main event. Imavov landed hard strikes throughout the fight, almost reaching the finish, but a foul in the fourth round nearly derailed an otherwise solid performance.

From the opening moments, as both worked out striking range, Imavov looked the more dangerous man. Dolidze tried to deflect Imavov’s attacks by initiating a clinch along the cage, but ate some close elbows for his troubles.

Back at distance, Imavov had consistent success with straight right hands. While those rights were well received, it was the flurry of lefts that threw Dolidze off balance and sent him to the canvas late in the first round.

To his credit, Dolidze survived the following attack on the ground, which included heavy ground and pound and a deep armbar that was cut off when the horn sounded to end Round 1.

Despite trembling legs as he walked to his corner after the opening round, Dolidze prevailed in Round 2, forcing Imavov – who was looking a bit tired after his sustained burst of effort in trying to score a finish in the first five minutes – as well. cage. Dolidze’s success in initiating the clinch came after the introduction of a landing right hand that was very effective for Imavov in the first round.

Both men began to tire early in the third round, with Imavov still throwing powerful punches and Dolidze trying to take over and not doing much.

Things took a turn for the worse in round 4, with Imavov taking Dolidze down while standing in the clinch. Dolidze put his hands on the mat but Imavov still delivered a powerful kick to the head. This resulted in a point deduction when Imavov also started arguing Dolidze’s corner. After the foul, Dolidze had his best moments of the fight, taking a strong flurry and striking the ground with a leg lock attempt.

Dolidze attempted something in the final round, increasing the pace with what little energy he had, but had nothing on the feet or on the ground as Imavov landed the better shots in the round.

After five rounds of tight action, the judges returned scorecards of 49-44, 47-47, 48-46. Imavov won by majority decision.