Early UFC on ESPN: Cannonier vs Imavov Predictions

After an incredible PPV last week, this week's fun features another outstanding card. After a series of underwhelming Fight Cards, this one lacks just one title fight to be worthy of a numbered event. Let's take a look at some early Cannonier vs Imavov predictions.

UFC on ESPN 57: Best Main Card Bouts

There is some real quality in this lineup. There is hardly a main card bout that does not deserve attention. But we have to stick with the easy ones for now, at least until we hear more from the athletes during fight week.

Cannonier vs Imavov: Unlucky Times to be a Middleweight

The Middleweight division has been moving like crazy. There have been four champions in the span of just over a year – Pereira, Adesanya, Strickland, and now Du Plessis. And in a normal weight class, Cannonier would need one more win to earn a title shot.

Unfortunately, with Strickland's win over Costa, the former champ is likely to get that rematch first, even though Cannonier would have three wins in a row. Jared beat Vettori and surprisingly, Sean Strickland before he became a champion.

Imavov also needs this win but for a different reason. This is his ticket to the Top 5 in the division after a loss to Sean and an NC against Chris Curtis. He has to win here to put his career back on track.

There is no guarantee as to how this fight will end. Cannonier hits like a truck but has hardly found success with knockouts in recent years. He has one knockout in the last five years. Imavov, in turn, has also had mostly decisions. The easiest Cannonier vs Imavov prediction is for over 2.5 rounds. You could even opt for a higher line as there is a solid chance this ends with the judges.

Reyes vs Jacoby: What are you doing, Dominick?

Why is Dominick Reyes still fighting, his career ended a while ago. And by no means is this a disrespect towards his impressive career. He was once one of the hottest prospects in the UFC and smashed the entire light-heavyweight division on his way to the title shot.

He beat three title contenders in a row (Cannonier, Saint Preux, and Oezdemir) and one former champion (Weidman). This was in 2019. Since then, he hasn't won a bout. He lost to Jon Jones, Jan Blachowicz, Jiri Prochazka, and Ryan Spann, with the last one being in 2022. There is no logical reason to return unless it is about money.

As bad as Dustin Jacoby has been in recent years, we have to side with him for our Cannonier vs Imavov predictions. He lost to Menifield in December but he still has that knockout power in his hands. This could easily go all three rounds too but we definitely see Jacoby as the favorite.

Rosas Jr. vs Turcio: El Nino Problema is the future

The hype train behind Raul Rosas Jr. was extreme after he made his debut in December 2022. Obviously, he was 18 years old and won via a Face Crank in the opening round. Combined with his fun personality, he was the main topic of every discussion. And he lost the next fight four months later.

But the lad is 19 years old now. The majority of the UFC fighters enter the roster in their late 20s or even after 30. The boy has at least 15 years left at the highest level unless he picks up a career-ending injury.

He has the potential to become a legend of the sport and we expect him to continue his path to glory with a win on Saturday. Ricky Turcios can certainly shock the world but Rosas Jr's ground game is already above average.

Turcios has only four finishes in 12 matches and he is not the high-pressure type. The early finish from Rosas sounds perfect for our Cannonier vs Imavov predictions. He is hungry and matchmakers gave him an easy target.

As always, NYFights will provide coverage on the entire card and event throughout the week. But these are the top three fights from the UFC on ESPN 57 fight card and they deserve special attention.