Nassourdine Imavov made his presence known to Sean Strickland during an altercation with the UFC middleweight champion at the UFC Performance Institute.
Imavov (17-4 MMA, 9-2 UFC) has been campaigning hard to get his title shot and rematch with Strickland (31-7 MMA, 18-7 UFC), but the reigning champ appears to be at a contractual crossroads with the promotion. On Wednesday, Strickland threatened to vacate his belt and move to boxing if he can't be paid what he sees as fair value.
Seemingly around the same time, Strickland crossed paths with Imavov in Las Vegas, and it turned into a heated scene.
Championship Rounds posted footage of the encounter in X, with Imavov hounding Strickland about why he hasn't signed for their fight. He screamed repeatedly
at Strickland as he walked away, including a scene where he attempted to chase him down while surrounded people tried to calm him down and the UFC security team held him back.
Check out the video of the run-in below (via X):
Nassourdine Imavov just ran into Sean Strickland in Las Vegas and it got HEATED 😳
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) October 7, 2026
🗣️ Imavov: "What is your problem? You not sign the contract?"
🗣️ Strickland: "Say what?"
🗣️ Imavov: "Money? I have money, I give. Hey I'm here, where are you going?" pic.twitter.com/wVA0xuJchP
Strickland claimed the 185-pound belt for the second time at UFC 328 in May with an upset win over Khamzat Chimaev. He said he expected to fight in December after recovering from injury, but the UFC 335 event on Dec. 12 was announced without his participation.
It's unknown if Strickland's social media posts came before or after the footage with Imavov, who is eager to avenge his UFC Fight Night 217 main event loss in January 2023.
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Video: Nassourdine Imavov confronts Sean Strickland at UFC PI, restrained by security
