Nassourdine Imavov Offers Sean Strickland $500,000 for January
Nassourdine Imavov has put $500,000 of his own money on the table and dared Sean Strickland to defend the UFC middleweight title in January. The No. 3 contender posted the offer on X after the expected 2026 booking slipped, and he told the promotion to strip the champion if the fight still does not happen.
“If it’s really about money, I’ll put $500K of my own money on the line if you beat me in January,” Imavov wrote, tagging Strickland. “I’m putting this on record.” The second half of the post dropped the purse talk. “If you still don’t take it, then you’re just scared. I’ll handle you outside the cage, fake champ. STRIP HIM.”
Imavov followed the post with a shorter line. “No bet! Just a promise.” The offer was a reply to a fan claim that Strickland wanted $1 million for a January 16 bout at UFC 336, against a reported offer of $400,000 to show and $400,000 to win. Those purse figures have not been confirmed by the UFC or by Strickland.
The money dispute is not new. Strickland wrote on September 28 that the fight was close once pay was settled. “We’re discussing pay now,” he posted. “Once that detail is squared its locked in. The issue is no one cares about the fake Frenchman. We’re almost there.” He later replied “Bingo lol” to a comment that money, not an injury, kept him off the year-ending card.
That card was UFC 335 on December 12 in Las Vegas. A fan post had blamed an ATV rollover for Strickland’s absence, and the champion’s reply pointed at the contract instead. With the remaining 2026 numbered shows already carrying main events, the first defense of this title reign is now being discussed for early 2027. Imavov’s post is an attempt to pull that date back to January.
Strickland is a two-time middleweight champion at 31-7. He reclaimed the belt with a split decision over Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 328 on May 9 in Newark, less than three months after he knocked out Anthony Hernandez. The Chimaev win ended a reign that had begun after Strickland’s earlier loss to Dricus du Plessis. A January defense would be his third UFC fight of the year.
Imavov is 17-4, 30 years old, and ranked No. 3 at middleweight by the UFC. He has won five in a row, including a second-round knockout of Israel Adesanya on February 1, 2025, and a five-round decision over Caio Borralho in the main event of UFC Paris on September 6, 2025. The streak also includes wins over Brendan Allen, Jared Cannonier, and Roman Dolidze.
The January offer is a rematch, not a first meeting. Strickland beat Imavov by unanimous decision in the main event of UFC Vegas 67 on January 14, 2023. Imavov has spent the years since that loss calling for another shot, and the Adesanya finish moved him from a name on the contender list to the clearest available challenger once Chimaev lost the belt.
The “fake champ” line and the strip demand are Imavov’s reading of a stalled negotiation, not a UFC decision. Strickland has not answered the $500,000 post. The champion has already said the holdup is pay and that interest in Imavov is lower than the interest that surrounded the Chimaev fight. Imavov’s answer is that the number should no longer be the excuse.
A personal side bet does not book a title fight. The UFC still has to agree on a date, a venue, and a purse, and Strickland still has to accept. What the post does is put a public figure on a private argument. If the champion wants January, Imavov says the extra money is there. If he does not, Imavov says the reason is no longer the contract.
