UFC Fight Night: Strickland vs. Imavov

UFC Fight Night: Imavov vs. Strickland

In the first event of the 2023 UFC schedule, we have a great card full of exciting matchups. The original headlining fight was canceled because Kelvin Gastelum suffered an injury in training camp. UFC middleweight Sean Strickland has stepped up on a few days’ notice to meet Nassourdine Imavov in the main event. This fight will be held at 205 lbs.

Strickland (25-5) probably didn’t think his next UFC fight would be less than a month after his last one, which was a main event against top middleweight Jared Cannonier. He lost a close decision which he was upset about, so this will be his chance to jump right back in and steer his path to the title back on track.

Imavov is also taking a huge risk in fighting the long-time world-class fighter in Strickland, so both men deserve all the praise for saving the first of the 2023 UFC events. 

The co-main event is also an interesting matchup where two UFC vets clash in the octagon. Dan “50k” Ige (15-6) will try to get back into the winning column against submission artist Damon Jackson (22-4-1). 

Going back to the main event, we will see a hungry Sean Strickland try to right his wrongs and get back into his usual winning ways after dropping two straight fights, including one to the current champion, Alex Pereira, last July. Will he put his ego aside and use all his tools? Or will the rising French star be too much for him to handle?

Strickland has elite grappling skills that he seems to never use. He could have used those against a lower-skilled grappler like Pereira but decided to stand up and strike with the world-champion kickboxer. There seems to be a lot to be learned for Strickland from his last two fights. 

Imavov has a lot of raw talent that keeps improving every appearance he makes inside the octagon. He will have to use all his tools to beat Strickland, who will be standing tall and walking him down for all 25 minutes of this main event.

How to bet on this card?

UFC predictions are some of the toughest to make in sports. Mixed martial arts competitions are so unpredictable that it is almost impossible to confidently predict an exact outcome.

With this being a short-notice bout, UFC odds have been all over the place for the main event. Currently, Nassourdine Imavov is the slight betting favorite at -115, with many sportsbooks making this a pick ’em fight. 

Prop bets to look at are Strickland winning inside the distance at +225 and Imavov winning by decision at +300. Strickland has no trust in the judges anymore and will want to get this win by himself, and Imavov is a technical fighter going up against a very durable guy. These two outcomes seem to be the best bang for your buck by far. 

Insiders Betting Digest brings fans and bettors the most exciting UFC odds in the upcoming UFC events so we can all have a blast and cash in big time!