It has been reported that the UFC is close to signing on for an event in Florida this coming February, headlined by middleweight champion Sean Strickland putting his title on the line in a rematch against the No. 3 ranked Nassourdine Imavov.
The pair first met back in January 2023, with the American winning by unanimous judges’ decision inside what was then referred to as the UFC APEX. Later that year, Strickland stopped Abus Magomedov, and defeated Israel Adesanya to begin his first reign as middleweight champion.
Strickland went on to lose the title to Dricus Du Plessis in his first attempt at defending the belt, but most recently regained championship status with a massive upset victory over Khamzat Chimaev last May.
Since his loss to Strickland, Imavov has gone on an 6-fight unbeaten streak (5 wins, 2 finishes, 1 NC). His most recent wins include finishes over strong middleweight competitors such as Brendan Allen, Israel Adesanya, and Caio Borralho.
Earlier this month, Strickland and Imavov crossed paths at the UFC Performance Institute, and things got heated quickly. The pair exchanged verbal jabs back and forth over Imavov’s claim that Strickland was holding up their rematch from coming to fruition due to a dispute in pay. Now, the hope is that the dispute in pay has been resolved as their potential fight date in February inches closer.