Any pro sports glutton is getting their fill these days in Louisville.
The city welcomed an influx of horse racing fans just over a month ago for the thrilling Kentucky Derby 150. A few weeks later, golf fans flocked to Valhalla for the PGA Championship.
On Saturday, all eyes will be on the KFC Yum! Center while Louisville hosts UFC Fight Night. Medium-ranked candidates Jared Cannonier (17-6) and Nassourdine Imavov (13-4) will headline the event in a five-round bout at 8 p.m. It is only the second time that Derby City has hosted the UFC and the first since 2011.
While there has always been a presence of mixed martial arts, boxing and other forms of fighting in Louisville, the level of interest has increased since the city last hosted the UFC.
Love for the ‘Ville: PGA Championship 2024 and Kentucky Derby 150 showcase the best of Louisville’s sporting scene
“There are a lot of gyms now training more for MMA,” said Derrick Logan, a Louisville native and longtime UFC and MMA fan. “At one point, some gyms were stagnant where, when you started, they went over basic things, but now they have pretty much every machine you would normally see in an MMA gym.
“There are so many MMA gyms that have appeared out of nowhere over the years that everyone does. So for the UFC to come to Louisville, Kentucky, that’s a big deal.”
Earlier this week, Cannonier visited the Muhammad Ali Center to see the story of Louisville’s most iconic fighter. In addition to the tour, he watched a short film about Ali’s life and took souvenir photos.
“I thought it was quite informative,” Cannonier said in a UFC article. “A lot of things I didn’t know about him. A lot of things I knew, but I got more in-depth details about it, and I got to see all the cool memories, all the cool things he did. A lot of cool stories about his life before boxing, during boxing, his activism and his humanitarianism. So, it was really informative. We received a lot of good information. Lots of good energy from this place.”
Cannonier will return to the ring for the first time in almost a year. He won back-to-back fights after scoring a unanimous victory over Marvin Vettori on June 17, 2023.
“I’m not trying to go five rounds. I prefer not to do more than one round,” said Cannonier. “I’d rather go in there, put my hand on you, you can’t handle it. You say no. The referee says no. … Or, your corner says nothing more. I’m always going to the end. I fight for the end. I fight to disable you, so you don’t do it to me.”
Imavov most recently beat Roman Dolidze via majority decision on February 3 and has recorded TKOs in two of his last six fights.
“You could see in my last fight the way I walked in the cage, I was still smiling,” Imavov said through an interpreter, “so mentally I’m a lot better than I used to (be) because I feel confident in my team. I’m better. Being better mentally is perhaps the most important thing when you enter the cage.”
Logan is looking forward to the fight, predicting it will be a fight.
“One thing I like about Jared Cannonier is he’s a puncher,” Logan said. “He is a great fighter. Not so much the best on the ground, but that’s how most opponents get the best of him, it’s the fact that he’s not the best on the ground, but… (Imavov) has a great standup game.
“I think it’s going to be a great fight. It’s going to be (a) slugfest. It’s going to be about who lands the most shots, I guess, who gets hurt the earliest.”
In addition to the two strikers, Saturday night’s UFC card includes light heavyweights Dominick Reyes (12-4) and Dustin Jacoby (19-8-1); bantamweights Raul Rosas Jr. (8-1) and Ricky Turcios (13-3); and welterweights Miguel Baeza (10-3) and Punahele Soriano (9-4). In the middleweight fights, Julian Marquez (9-4) will face Zachary Reese (6-1) and Brunno Ferreira (11-1) will face Dustin Stoltzfus (15-5).
More: The return of the UFC in Louisville features the main middleweights fighting for the title
Contact Louisville football, women’s basketball and baseball writer Alexis Cubit at acubit@gannett.com and follow her on X at @Alexis_Cubit.
This article originally appeared in the Louisville Courier Journal: After Derby 150, PGA Championship, UFC event scheduled for Louisville
