Nassourdine
Imavov believes his fight against Sean
Strickland would have ended differently under normal
circumstances. 

Imavov (17-4) was scheduled to fight Kelvin
Gastelum in 2023. However, Strickland replaced an injured
Gastelum on five days’ notice. Strickland (29-7) went on to score a
unanimous decision win over Imavov. 

Advertisement

Strickland is now scheduled to headline
UFC Houston against Anthony
Hernandez (15-2) on Saturday. The
UFC recently posted highlights of Strickland’s win over Imavov,
praising the former champion’s forward pressure. Imavov was quick
to react, claiming he would have “crushed” Strickland under normal
circumstances. Since Imavov didn’t make any excuses for the loss,
he probably means the short-notice change of opponent.

A Confident Assertion

“Make no mistakes, under normal conditions, I’ll crush this guy!
Mark my words,” Imavov wrote.

Strickland went on to become the middleweight champion with a huge
upset win over Israel
Adesanya, just one fight removed from his win over Imavov.
Strickland lost the title against Dricus Du
Plessis, rebounded with a win over Paulo
Costa, and failed to reclaim the title against Du Plessis in a
rematch.

Meanwhile, Imavov is undefeated in six straight outings since his
loss against Strickland. With wins over Roman
Dolidze, Jared
Cannonier, Brendan
Allen, Adesanya and Caio
Borralho, Imavov is widely considered the frontrunner for the
next middleweight title shot against Khamzat
Chimaev, who dethroned Du Plessis last year. 

IMAK ADMIN

By IMAK ADMIN

Internationaler Kampfkunst und Kampfsport Kleinanzeiger