In the co-main event of UFC Paris we are going to see a massive matchup in the middleweight division as two top eight contenders battled it out. The “Russian Sniper” Nassourdine Imavov (14-4) will be taking on Brendan Allen (24-5).
Starting with Allen, he’s going to be looking for his eighth straight win tomorrow. After earning a contract on Dana White’s Contender Series, Allen won his first three fights including a submission win over Kevin Holland. He then suffered a loss to Sean Strickland. A few fights later, he lost to Chris Curtis, but he hasn’t tasted defeat since. In his last fight, he avenged his loss to Chris Curtis in a very close fight.
Standing across from him at UFC Paris will be Nassourdine Imavov. Imavov lost his second fight inside the octagon, but then won three straight fights before he ran into Sean Strickland. An No Contest against Chris Curtis followed the Strickland loss, but since then, he’s won back-to-back fights. Most recently, he stopped former title challenger Jared Cannonier at UFC Louisville back in June.
UFC Paris Prediction
Brendan Allen has drastically improved his game as a whole during this winning streak. He’s extremely good on the ground, but his striking lacked behind and we saw his lack of crisp striking in his TKO losses to Sean Strickland and Chris Curtis. However, he showed great improvement in the last fight where he defeated Chris Curtis.
That said, he doesn’t want to strike with Nassourdine Imavov. If he tries to strike with Imavov, I think he’ll get picked apart at UFC Paris. I think it’ll ultimately come down to whether or not Allen can get takedowns and whether or not he can keep Imavov down.
Over three rounds, I think Imavov is going to be able to keep it striking enough to have big moments. However, I do think we see takedowns and a decent amount of control by Brendan Allen. I’m feeling a really close decision at UFC Paris, and I hate to be this guy, but if it’s close I’ll go with the guy fighting out of Paris.
Prediction: Nassourdine Imavov by Decision