Nassourdine
Imavov
has burrowed into the
Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight division’s Top 15
rankings. Now, he must prove he has staying power.
The Russian-born Frenchman will ride a three-fight winning streak
into his showdown with
Kelvin
Gastelum in the
UFC Fight Night 217 headliner on Saturday at the UFC Apex in
Las Vegas. Imavov carries a 4-1 record through five assignments
inside the Octagon. He last appeared at UFC Fight Night 209, where
he took a unanimous decision from
Joaquin
Buckley in their three-round pairing on Sept. 3. Gastelum,
meanwhile, has lost five of his past six bouts, including two in a
row. “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 17 winner last competed on Aug.
21, when he dropped a unanimous decision to
Jared
Cannonier in the UFC on ESPN 29 main event.
As Imavov and Gastelum draw ever closer to their forthcoming battle
at 185 pounds, a look at some of the numbers that have accompanied
them to this point:
27: Years of age for Imavov, who was born on March 1, 1995 in
Makhachkala, Russia.
4: Imavov victories by submission, accounting for 33% of his career
total (12). His methods of choice: two rear-naked chokes, one brabo
choke and one kimura. Imavov holds five other victories by knockout
or technical knockout (42%) and three more by decision (25%).
122: Seconds needed for Imavov to put away
Gary
Formosa with punches at a Centurion Fight Championship show on
Nov. 4, 2017. More than five years later, it remains his fastest
finish to date.
8: Countries in which Imavov has competed as a mixed martial
artist. He has gone 3-1 in France, 2-1 in the United States, 2-0 in
Malta, 1-1 in Poland, 1-0 in Switzerland, 1-0 in Italy, 1-0 in
Senegal and 1-0 in the United Arab Emirates.
.711: Cumulative winning percentage between the three men—
Majdeddine
Ayadi,
Michal
Michalski and
Phil
Hawes—who have beaten Imavov. They boast a combined record of
32-13.
31: Years of age for Gastelum, who was born on Oct. 24, 1991 in San
Jose, California.
6: Gastelum wins by knockout or technical knockout, accounting for
37.5% of his career total (16). His list of UFC victims:
Michael
Bisping,
Tim Kennedy
and
Nate
Marquardt. Gastelum owns four other wins by submission (25%)
and six more by decision (37.5%).
350,000: Dollars in post-fight bonuses banked by Gastelum across
his 20 appearances in the UFC. He has been awarded “Fight of the
Night” on four occasions and “Performance of the Night” three
times.
124: Significant strikes landed by Gastelum in a unanimous decision
over former welterweight champion
Johny
Hendricks at UFC 200 in 2016. It established a personal
high-water mark for the
Rafael
Cordeiro protégé that still stands.
165: Combined victories between the eight men—Cannonier,
Robert
Whittaker,
Jack
Hermansson,
Darren Till,
Israel
Adesanya,
Chris
Weidman,
Neil Magny
and
Tyron
Woodley—who have defeated Gastelum. They sport a cumulative
.764 winning percentage at 165-49-2.