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Nassourdine Imavov picked up another important victory on Saturday, but whether it gets him to his desired destination remains to be seen.
Meanwhile, Renato Carneiro put a hellacious beating on Benoit St. Denis in the opening round of the UFC Paris headliner, forcing a doctor stoppage after two rounds. “Moicano” has won four straight in the lightweight division, adding “God of War” to a list of victims that also includes Jalin Turner, Drew Dober and Brad Riddell. That allows the Brazilian to rise to the top spot on the lightweight bubble at No. 11.
Elsewhere, Jacqueline Cavalcanti improved to 2-0 against Noelle Cornolle, taking a split verdict over the Frenchwoman in their preliminary bantamweight tilt. Cavalcanti’s professional winning streak stands at six — including three straight in the Octagon — allowing her to climb to No. 14 at 135 pounds. In other bantamweight action, Ailin Perez made short work of Darya Zheleznyakova, but the Argentina native also missed weight, so she falls one spot behind Cavalcanti.
Finally, Seika Izawa fended off a game Kanna Asakura to earn a unanimous decision triumph in a non-title, super atomweight matchup at Rizin 48. The top-ranked Izawa improves to 14-0 and remains established atop the weight class, while the 10th-ranked Asakura presumably rides off into the sunset in what was billed as her farewell fight.
Note: Previous rankings listed in brackets.
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