Joaquin Buckley vs. Alessio Di Chirico, Phil Hawes vs. Nassourdine Imavov Set. for Jan. 16
Lo noquea! @NewMansa94 con otro tremendo KO!!! #UFC255 pic.twitter.com/dZXpe4VmYu
— ufcespanol (@UFCEspanol) November 22, 2020
Two middleweight bouts have been added to the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s UFC Fight Night 184”>Jan. 16 lineup, as Joaquin Buckley will meet Alessio Di Chirico, while Phil Hawes will face Nassourdine Imavov.
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After being stopped by Kevin Holland in his Octagon debut, Buckley emerged as one of 2020’s breakout fighters thanks to back-to-back knockouts of Impa Kasanganay and Jordan Wright. The KO of Kasanganay went viral and will likely end up on many year-end lists when all is said and done. “New Mansa” is 12-3 over the course of a career that also includes stints in Legacy Fighting Alliance and Bellator MMA.
Italy’s Di Chirico enters the matchup with Buckley hoping to stop a three-bout losing streak within the Las Vegas-based promotion. In his lone appearance of 2020, the 31-year-old suffered a unanimous decision loss to Zak Cummings at UFC Fight Night 175. Prior to that, “Manzo” dropped decisions to Makhmud Muradov and Holland in 2019. He is 3-5 in the Octagon and 12-5 as a professional overall.
Hawes earned a UFC contract with a 78-second TKO of Khadzhimurat Bestaev on Dana White’s Contender Series this past August before scoring an 18-second KO of Jacob Malkoun in his promotional debut at UFC 254. That gives the 31-year-old Sanford MMA representative a five-fight winning streak heading into his sophomore Octagon appearance.
Imavov was also successful in his first promotional foray, as he outpointed Jordan Williams at UFC on ESPN 16. The 25-year-old MMA Factory product has been victorious in his last six professional outings.
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