The UFC Louisville didn’t fall short of fans’ expectations as the main event of the night proved to be an entertaining strike-fest between Jared Cannonier and Nassourdine Imavov. It was a controversial finish with Imavov earning a TKO victory over his rival in the fourth round. But this has made fans speculate about their fight purses.
In most cases, the earnings of two UFC fighters show disparity even when they lock horns against each other on the same night. But a report from ‘NY Fights’ estimated that the payouts of the UFC Louisville main eventers bear a stark difference from such examples.
It estimates that ‘The Killa Gorilla’ Cannonier earned about $300k from the guaranteed purse of his UFC Louisville main event bout, which is about $100k less than what he had made from his encounter with Sean Strickland.
Nassourdine Imavov, who had made about $256k from the guaranteed fight purse of his previous fight against Roman Dolidze could get a small raise this time to match his rival, Cannonier’s earnings.
The report estimated that the French UFC middleweight also made around $300k from the encounter.
Obviously, Cannonier’s fans walked out of the KFC Yum! Center with disappointment after his loss. But they also might have a sense of injustice after his defeat.
Cannonier vs Imavov fight stopped early?
Cannonier has time and again shown glimpses of his adamantium chin. The 40-year-old may have picked up seven losses in his pro-MMA career but only two fighters have been able to finish him. After tonight, Imavov became the third fighter to claim this feat.
But several UFC personas have claimed that it was an early stoppage from referee Jason Herzog that helped him claim the victory.
Terrence Mckinney, Herbert Burns, and several other current UFC fighters expressed their opinions against the ‘early stoppage’ narrative. Well, it’s quite apparent that Imavov’s record won’t change because of their criticism, but an unclean victory gets spoken about more than your cleanest wins.
