Written by Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC
Following a stunning win over former champion Israel Adesanya back in February, Nassourdine Imavov is nearing title contention and he’ll take one step closer when he serves as the backup fighter when middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis faces Khamzat Chimaev in the UFC 319 main event.
Sources close to the situation confirmed to MMA Fighting on Wednesday that Imavov is staying ready as the backup fighter for the card taking place on Aug. 16 at the United Center in Chicago. RMC Sport first reported the news.
The UFC often employs backup fighters to stay ready just in case disaster strikes and one half of the main event falls apart in the days or weeks leading up to an event. The practice really started during the COVID pandemic but the UFC has continued to occasionally name a backup fighter for certain title fights.
Imavov is staying ready after knocking out Adesanya, which extended his overall winning streak to four in a row. During that run, Imavov also took out Brendan Allen, Jared Cannonier and Roman Dolidze, which put him near the top of the UFC’s middleweight rankings.
Overall, Imavov sports a 16-4 record with one no contest including a 8-2 resume with one no contest in the UFC.
Regardless of his recent success, Imavov knew that Chimaev had already been chosen as the next title contender following a jaw-crushing win over former champion Robert Whittaker. But Imavov is still serving as the backup, which puts the 30-year-old Russian on the cusp of his own opportunity at UFC gold.
UFC 319 goes down Saturday night, Aug. 16 from the United Center in Chicago with the main card kicking off on pay-per-view at 10 p.m. ET.