UFCVegas85: Stars of The Show, Fight of the Night, and a Heated Exchange in the Main Event
By Dustin Schlagel
LAS VEGAS (Feb. 3, 2024) - February 3 UFC Fight Night in Nevada's Apex Center was jam-packed with excitement from start to finish. While the preliminary card saw solid finishes by South African Social Media Sensation Themba Gorimbo and Irish brawler Molly McCann, the main event of the night saw a heated exchange of words between Nassourdine Imavov and Roman Dolidzes' Cornerman and fellow fighter Chris Curtis.
Gorimbo Picks Up First-Round Knockout in His Third UFC Bout
In only the third UFC fight of his career, 33-year-old Themba Gorimbo (2-1) proved his case for moving from the prelims to the main card. Gorimbo, who went viral on social media in May of last year after Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson gifted the then-homeless fighter a house, ended his Welterweight matchup with Pete Rodriguez in just 32 seconds. With a quick ducking overhand, Gorimbo dropped 27-year-old Rodriguez and followed it up with a devastating series of hammer punches that put the American fighter away for the night. Following his flashy knockout, the Zimbabwe native got on the microphone in his post-fight interview to call out Welterweight champion Leon Edwards (22-3) and undefeated contender Shavkat Rakhmonov (18-0).
"Whether it's Leon [Edwards] or [Shavkat] Rahkmonov, it does not matter," Said Gorimbo in the Octagon after his knockout win. "I'm going to beat them."
McCann Rejuvenizes Her Career With a Strawweight Debut Submission
Following a loss by first-round armbar to Julija Stoliarenko (11-9-2) in July of 2023, the almost 34-year-old Molly McCann (13-6) found herself at a crossroads: retire, or cut weight and try for one last run in a stacked Womens' Strawweight Division. Luckily for McCann, the luck of the Irish spread to Las Vegas Saturday night.
After dropping her last two fights by first-round submission in Flyweight, McCann made sure to come into her debut with Romania's Diana Belbita (15-8) with a different gameplan than usual. McCann took the fight to the ground early, and late into the first round, McCann locked in a deep armbar on the 27-year-old kickboxer, and forced a tapout, as well as a broken arm, to secure victory in her debut night. It's safe to say that McCann's retirement party may have to wait a while.
Imavov Beats Dolidze by Decision; Chris Curtis Makes His Presence Known
In his first main event fight, 28-year-old French fighter Nassourdine Imavov (13-4) put on a five-round masterclass against the 35-year-old Georgian Roman Dolidze (12-3) in a Middleweight brawl. Although Imavov put on a performance of the night level show, the real talk of the fight was his verbal skirmish with Dolidze Cornerman and formal rival Chris Curtis (31-10). Imavov and Curtis had a heated rivalry in July of 2023 that ended in a match with a no-contest decision due to accidental butting of heads. Saturday night, the 36-year-old American wrestling specialist Curtis proved that their past is far from behind them, as the veteran chirped Imavov during and after the fight.
"But you know," said Imavov in a post-fight press conference Saturday night. "If he really wants to keep talking, I can go to his gym and we can have a real tough sparring session and I'm going to destroy him as I did in the cage."
In the same press conference, Imavov shut down the possibility of fighting Curtis in an official UFC bout again, as he expressed interest in the now former Middleweight champion Sean Strickland. However, with the uncertainty and last-minute style of Pay Per View fight cards, it's always possible that these two could find themselves in a sequel match sometime in the future.
UFCVegas85 sized up to be a solid event prefight, and it did not disappoint, with 5 of the 14 matches ending in a finish, 4 of which came in the first round. with UFC 298 and 299 just around the corner, here's hoping that those fights can match up with the excitement that we saw Saturday night in Las Vegas.
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