Sean Strickland Confirms Fighting Nassourdine Imavov Next Instead of Khamzat Chimaev

Khamzat Chimaev will not get the next title shot as UFC remains close to announcing Sean Strickland vs Nassourdine Imavov rematch.

Sean Strickland Confirms Fighting Nassourdine Imavov Next Instead of Khamzat Chimaev

Sean Strickland is fighting Nassourdine Imavov next (Image via MMA Fighting/Vosges Matin)

Two-time UFC middleweight champion, Sean Strickland, is likely going to compete one more time this year. He fought Anthony “Fluffy” Hernandez in February and Khamzat Chimaev in May. Now, ‘Tarzan’ will defend his middleweight title against Nassourdine Imavov.

Initially, Chimaev wanted a rematch against Strickland after their UFC 328 bout. However, Imavov has a five-fight winning streak, two of them being finishes against Israel Adesanya and Jared Cannonier. Moreover, Chimaev didn’t have a title reign that warranted an immediate rematch against Strickland.

The date for Strickland’s next title defense is not set. However, he revealed a crucial aspect to a fan on X. The opponent is Imavov, but the pay for the fight is not set at the moment.

We’re discussing pay now. Once that detail is squared its locked in. The issue is no one cares about the fake Frenchman. We’re almost there.

Sean Strickland via X

Earlier, fans thought that the promotion would book a rematch between Chimaev and Strickland next. However, Dana White revealed that the potential rematch depended on the fans. Fans didn’t want to see an immediate rematch as Chimaev hadn’t even defended his belt once.

This is likely why the promotion pivoted to Imavov getting the next title shot. Meanwhile, Imavov believed from the beginning that he was the first to challenge Strickland for the belt.

After all, Imavov was supposed to get the title shot against Chimaev. Strickland’s TKO win over Anthony Hernandez made the promotion book a lucrative title fight between ‘Tarzan’ and ‘Borz’ at UFC 328.

Imavov is confident about his chances against Strickland despite losing their first encounter. Back in 2023, Imavov fought Strickland in the UFC Apex. The American star took the fight on short notice, but came out victorious via unanimous decision.

Despite winning the short-notice fight last time, things have changed quite a bit. Strickland fought Chimaev with a busted shoulder and needed surgery before fighting again. However, Joe Rogan helped him avoid surgery by getting the required treatment.

Imavov is a better striker than Chimaev. As such, Strickland’s shoulder needs to be in tip-top shape to outlast the in-form French fighter in their upcoming rematch.

Strickland has always made it a point to bring up fighter pay issues to the forefront. The disparity between what Strickland wants and what the UFC is willing to offer is likely keeping the fight from being made official.

At the same time, all signs point to Strickland coming to an agreement and likely fighting again in the final numbered event of the year in December.

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UFC’s newest sensation wants to bury beef with Sean Strickland

Luis Hernandez is a Miami-Dade Police Department officer, who made his UFC debut at UFC Vegas 121. Hernandez went viral last year after Strickland entered the cage to attack shortly after his bout. This was because Hernandez provocatively celebrated, drawing the ire of Strickland.

Luis Hernandez clarifies beef with Sean Strickland
Luis Hernandez clarifies beef with Sean Strickland (Image via MMA Fighting/X)

Fast-forward to now, Hernandez defeated Cedric Dumas via submission at UFC Vegas 121. Before the fight, the cop-turned-fighter was asked about his beef with Strickland. Hernandez reveled that there were no hard feelings and wanted to hang out with the middleweight champion.

I’m actually a fan of his, there’s no hard feelings. I would love to go with him to the gun range. We’re both adults, it happened and at the end of the day we need more USA fighters.

Luis Hernandez told Full Send MMA

Being an officer of the Miami-Dade Police Department has made Hernandez into a rising star. This is because not many fighters from a law enforcement background competes in the UFC. It remains to be seen what Strickland will say about the offer to go to a shooting range.

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