At the turn of this decade, UFC made some staggering signings, which has made a huge impact, and light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira is a perfect example of that notion. But another fighter, who made a steady climb in the middleweight rankings, has been Nassourdine Imavov, who’s gearing up for perhaps the biggest fight of his MMA career against Israel Adesanya in Saudi Arabia.

Nassourdine Imavov made a steady ascension among the 185’ers, losing just two of his ten UFC fights so far. His versatile fighting style has helped him earn impressive stats and the moniker, ‘The Sniper.’ But what is the significance of that nickname? Let’s find that out!

Nassourdine Imavov’s nickname: ‘The Sniper’

Unlike other fighters, there’s really no legitimate backstory to Nassourdine Imavov’s nickname, ‘The Sniper.’ However, his record might suggest that this moniker suits him well. This is because Imavov was born in the mountainous region of Dagestan. As we all know, that part of the world is renowned in the MMA community for producing some of the finest wrestling-heavy fighters in the sport. Khabib Nurmagomedov is the biggest example of that notion. However, things are a bit different for the 29-year-old.

Nassourdine Imavov always knew how to get his way around wrestling because it was pretty common in Dagestan. However, he never joined any gym until he moved to France, which would later become his home nation. Besides being able to wrestle, Imavov has also shown tremendous striking abilities as he has more in common with Islam Makhachev than his mentor Khabib.

Moreover, the ‘The Sniper’ moniker could signify the fact that Nassourdine Imavov has finished his opponents in ten out of his fifteen professional wins, with six of them coming via knockouts. Although the 29-year-old Frenchman hasn’t confirmed this fact, the essence of his nickname appears to be linked to his fighting prowess. But what led to Imavov becoming ‘The Sniper’? Let’s take a look at that front.

How did Imavov start fighting? Early life

At just the tender age of 9, Nassourdine Imavov’s family decided that they would be moving over to the heart of Europe, France. They’d make their way to Slaon-De-Provence, where the now-29-year-old would start showing an interest in boxing. As we’ve mentioned earlier, Imavov knew how to wrestle a bit, and that was because he more often than not got into trouble. “I started combat sports when I was 10 years old because I always liked to fight,” the 5th-ranked UFC middleweight told the UFC.

It appears that Nassourdine Imavov did not have an amateur MMA run, as he started directly as a professional fighter in 2016. Unfortunately, ‘The Sniper’ lost his first fight, but he strongly bounced back in a different promotion with several wins and even won the welterweight championship while fighting under the Thunderstrike Fight League. After four years of making his name in regional promotions, Imavov would finally make his way into the UFC.

Nassourdine Imavov’s current record makes him a credible threat to Israel Adesanya, who desperately needs a win at UFC Fight Night 250 to even get into title contention. But in the meantime, let us know what you think about the French fighter’s moniker that has no backstory at all. Drop your comments below.