Sean Strickland All but Confirms Nassourdine Imavov as His Next UFC Title Challenger

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Sean Strickland UFC Fight Night
Photo Credit: @ufceurasia/YouTube | Source: Lastwordonsports.com - Kshitiz Kumar Singh

It seems Sean Strickland’s first title defense is all but set. For the unversed, the American became a two-time middleweight champion at UFC 328 in May. “Tarzan” shocked the world by ending Khamzat Chimaev’s undefeated run and replicated his earlier heroics when he first won the title at UFC 293.

The win didn’t come easy, though. After dealing with a shoulder injury and going through back-to-back training camps for Chimaev and Anthony Hernandez, the reigning champion decided to take some time off. However, he had already made it clear that he would welcome a worthy challenger based on the rankings and picked Nassourdine Imavov as the man he wanted next.

Since then, there have been rumors of the two facing off in the main event of UFC 335 on December 12 later this year. Now, Strickland has confirmed that the financial details of the fight are currently being discussed and that the bout will be made official once everything is sorted out.

Sean Strickland Reveals He’s Negotiating With UFC for His Next Title Defense

Taking to X to answer a fan who asked, “Is it true your fighting Imavov Sean?”, the reigning 185-pound champion replied, “We’re discussing pay now. Once that detail is squared, it’s locked in. The issue is no one cares about the fake Frenchman. We’re almost there.”

For the unversed, Imavov is the No. 3-ranked UFC middleweight and is currently riding a five-fight winning streak. The Dagestani-French fighter most recently picked up a decision win over Caio Borralho in the main event of UFC Paris in September 2025, seven months after he knocked out Israel Adesanya.

 

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His last loss came against Strickland in 2023, when he took the fight on short notice at a UFC Fight Night event. As for Strickland, the champion recently had a scare after being involved in a side-by-side vehicle accident at 60 mph without a helmet. He later took to social media to show off the minor injuries he suffered.

However, Strickland was back sparring at the UFC Performance Institute the very next day. His longtime coach Eric Nicksick had advised against it, but admitted there was little he could do to change the champion’s mind. With Strickland back in training, it appears he didn’t suffer any serious injuries that would affect his upcoming title defense.