This is a big spot for Imavov, who has impressed thus far in his
UFC career. Imavov, who was born in Dagestan but fights out of and
represents France, had some questions upon hitting the UFC. He was
not tested against a particularly strong level of competition
outside of his last regional fight, and his sniping approach
appeared to leave some defensive openings that faster and more
potent fighters could exploit. Instead, everything has clicked for
Imavov. After a narrow loss to Phil Hawes
that saw him hold up against some impressive offense, he has laid
beatings on Ian
Heinisch and Edmen
Shahbazyan. Imavov hits hard and can hold his own as a
wrestler. Having proven he can take a shot, there is a lot here to
work with for the 26-year-old. However, those wins over Heinisch
and Shahbazyan do come with some questions, as they came against
opponents who hit a clear breaking point against Imavov. A win
against the much more persistent Buckley—in Imavov’s home base of
Paris, no less—would prove much for the adopted Frenchman. In
retrospect, it is a bit weird that Buckley was one of the most
talked-about fighters on the UFC roster for a few months. He was a
solid prospect, but an October 2020 spinning kick knockout of
Impa
Kasanganay was one of the best highlights in the history of the
sport and gained “New Mansa” a great deal of attention. To the
credit of both Buckley and the UFC, the company struck while the
iron was hot and put him in some prominent-but-winnable fights in
short order. After suffering a stunning upset knockout against
Alessio
Di Chirico in January 2021, Buckley vanished for a bit and was
basically part of the middleweight pack upon his return. Buckley is
slowly evolving as he tries some different ideas, but at its core,
his game is still about blitzing forward with power. His February
win over Abdul
Razak Alhassan was an extremely ugly affair, but his doctor
stoppage victory over Albert
Duraev in June was a reminder of how much damage Buckley can
cause if given the opportunity. That makes this a sneakily
difficult test for Imavov despite theoretically being a step back
from Shahbazyan. It is going to take Imavov longer than before to
turn the tide, and he is likely to eat a lot of offense before
being able to do so. There is a chance that Imavov can blast
Buckley with a counter—after all, Di Chirico managed to do so—but
the bet is that the American can make his pressure and takedown
defense work enough to separate himself on the scorecards early,
even if the favorite should settle into a rhythm late. The pick is
Buckley via decision.
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