Sean Strickland reveals final hurdle before ‘fake Frenchman’ Nassourdine Imavov UFC title fight

Guilherme Cruz is a Brazilian journalist covering combat sports since 2008.

Nassourdine Imavov is likely next for UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland, and the 185-pound titleholder just revealed on social media what’s missing for it to become official.

The UFC has not publicly confirmed Imavov as the next in line for the belt but according to Strickland, he’s already discussing the terms for a title defense.

“We’re discussing pay now,” Strickland wrote on Twitter. “Once that detail is squared, its locked in. The issue is no one cares about the fake Frenchman. We’re almost there.”

Imavov (17-4) earned a shot at the belt after winning five in a row in the UFC, capped off by victories over former champion Israel Adesanya and fellow contender Caio Borralho in 2025. He had a perfect year in 2024, defeating Roman Dolidze, Jared Cannonier and Brendan Allen in a span of seven months.

Strickland (31-7) re-claimed the middleweight title with a split decision upset of Khamzat Chimaev this past May, less than three months after knocking out Anthony Hernandez to rebound from a UFC title loss to Dricus Du Plessis a year prior.