UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland called Nassourdine Imavov‘s recent confrontation with him “cringe” after the Frenchman approached him near the UFC Performance Institute in Las Vegas. Daniel Cormier, a former two-division UFC champion, has since backed Imavov’s approach as a smart way to push for the title fight.
Strickland Calls the Incident ‘Cringe’
Strickland posted on Instagram after the encounter, writing that the whole thing was “all fake content” and that, if anything, it was “just mildly uncomfortable.” Imavov had first gone to Strickland’s own gym before catching up with him again outside the Performance Institute, asking why their bout agreement still had not been signed and offering to cover any financial gap if pay was the holdup. Security staff stepped in during the exchange. Strickland shrugged the approach off and walked away.
The champion is currently in an open dispute with the UFC over pay. In a series of posts on X on October 7, Strickland floated the idea of vacating his middleweight title to move up to light heavyweight and challenge boxer and influencer Jake Paul instead, comparing his own purse to the reported eight figures Conor McGregor commands for a fight. Strickland has not competed since beating Khamzat Chimaev by split decision at UFC 328 in May 2026, and he is not booked on any card before the end of the year.
Daniel Cormier Weighs In
Cormier addressed the confrontation on his YouTube channel, saying Imavov made the right call in pursuing the fight this way. He compared it to Strickland’s own path to the title, noting the champion had leaned on personal jabs at Chimaev before beating him in Houston. Cormier said the public could read Strickland’s calm reaction as reluctance to take the fight, even though he does not believe Strickland is afraid of any opponent. He also said he avoids training at the Performance Institute himself, since fighters there risk running into future opponents in exactly this kind of setting.
Imavov’s Approach to the Confrontation
Imavov has emerged over the past several months as the most credible contender in the middleweight division, stringing together wins over ranked opponents that put him next in line for a shot at Strickland. His visits to Strickland’s gym and then to the Performance Institute were a direct attempt to force a signed contract and an official date, at a time when the champion has been publicly weighing a jump to a different weight class altogether, or even an exit from the UFC roster entirely.
The Rematch Still Without a Contract
Imavov and Strickland already fought once, back in 2023, when Strickland stepped in on short notice for an injured Kelvin Gastelum and won the bout. Imavov says he has improved enough since then to reverse that result, and has made no secret of wanting the title shot he believes he has earned. The UFC has not signed a contract for a rematch, and no date has been set. Strickland’s public uncertainty about his own future, caught between a possible move to light heavyweight and a standoff over pay, leaves real doubt about whether the fight gets made in the near term.
What a Title Change Would Mean
Strickland has made clear in his own posts that pay, not opponents, is what is pushing him toward the exits. He has floated leaving the 185-pound division behind entirely, which would leave the middleweight picture without its champion and without a clear next step for the contenders waiting behind Imavov. That uncertainty is part of why Imavov’s push for a signed contract carries more urgency now than it might have a few months ago, before Strickland started talking publicly about Jake Paul and a jump to light heavyweight.
A Contender With History-Making Stakes
A win over Strickland would make Imavov the first French fighter to hold a UFC championship, a distinction no French athlete has yet claimed in the promotion’s history. That stands as part of what is driving his urgency to get the bout signed, months removed from his last ranked win and still without a date on the calendar. Whether Cormier’s endorsement adds enough pressure to move the needle remains to be seen, but it keeps one of the UFC’s most anticipated middleweight matchups squarely in the conversation heading into the rest of 2026.
