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Nassourdine Imavov defeated Roman Dolidze in the main event of UFC Vegas 85 on Feb. 3 to advance in his quest to challenge for the UFC title. The five-round middleweight main event was held at the UFC Apex facility in Enterprise, Nevada.
The No.8-ranked Dolidze, who was coming off a loss to Marvin Vettori at UFC 286, was the +140 underdog. Meanwhile, the No.11-ranked Imavov entered the fight as a -165 favorite. His most recent bout prior to his clash with Dolidze, against Chris Curtis at UFC 289, ended in a no-contest due to an accidental contact of heads that left Curtis unable to continue.
The headliner on Saturday night was not without controversy either. Imavov, who was clearly ahead in the fight, landed an illegal knee on Dolidze that put him in danger of being disqualified. The 28-year-old got into a disagreement with his previous opponent Curtis, who was present in Dolidze's corner. Imavov was penalized one point for the illegal strike.
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In the fifth round, Dolidze made multiple submission attempts, but the Russian-born Frenchman managed to escape and reach the final bell.
Imavov ultimately prevailed via a majority decision on the judges' scorecards (49-44, 47-47, 48-46).
Fans soon rushed to the comments section of the UFC's post on the fight to share their reactions.
One fan wrote:
''Give him Curtis next asap''
Another fan wrote:
''Dolidze should've took the DQ''
One fan criticized Dolidze, writing:
''Dolidze went from a marauder to a guy who had literally nothing to offer, using bad rules to avoid getting finished. Crazy''
Imavov's professional MMA record improved to 13-4-1NC with the victory. This is his first win inside the octagon since he defeated Joaquim Buckley at the UFC's first event in France in September 2022.
In the co-main event, Brazil's Renato Moicano walked away with a unanimous decision win over Drew Dober.
