Nassourdine Imavov responds after Sean Strickland urges PFL star Johnny Eblen to fight him in the UFC

Nassourdine Imavov's rivalry with reigning UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland seems to have intensified over the past few weeks.

The Russian-French combatant has taken aim at Strickland after the latter heaped praise on his fellow American and PFL star Johnny Eblen.

The Iowa-born Eblen is booked to fight Impa Kasanganay at PFL Austin on July 18. Eblen previously bested Kasanganay via split decision in 2024.

Their upcoming rematch would have the interim PFL middleweight belt at stake, as PFL middleweight champion Costello van Steenis is on an injury-induced hiatus. 

Nassourdine Imavov targets Sean Strickland after the UFC middleweight ruler lauds PFL mainstay Johnny Eblen

Nassourdine Imavov's last MMA defeat came at the hands of Sean Strickland, who bested him via unanimous decision in a non-title light heavyweight matchup that headlined a UFC Fight Night card in January 2023. 

"The Sniper" bounced back, however, by winning five of the six fights he's had after losing to Strickland. Imavov followed up his loss to "Tarzan" by fighting to an NC (No Contest) against the American's sparring partner, Chris Curtis, after which he amassed a five-fight win streak. 

Meanwhile, coming to July 2026, Strickland is a two-time UFC middleweight kingpin, having commenced his second title reign after outpointing Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 328 in May. 

Strickland is known to train at the world-renowned Xtreme Couture gym in Las Vegas with other notable fighters such as ex-Bellator MMA middleweight champion and current PFL mainstay Johnny Eblen. 

On that note, footage of Strickland and Eblen after their recent training session has been making the rounds on social media.

It saw Strickland praise Eblen, encouraging him to win his upcoming fight for the interim PFL middleweight belt and then join the UFC to fight him for the UFC middleweight championship. 

Strickland stated, "First session down with Johnny (Eblen). Guy's a savage. You're gonna have it." 

Eblen chimed in by pointing out that Strickland is the reigning UFC middleweight champion. Moreover, Strickland added, "Win the belt, go to UFC, then win one fight, and then we're gonna fight for the belt. And I don't know f**king who's gonna win. But we're gonna f**king find out." 

The two MMA middleweights proceeded to seemingly concur that their eventual clash against each other inside the octagon would be fun. 

Nassourdine Imavov soon got wind of the same and replied to an X post featuring the footage of Strickland praising Eblen.

The Dagestan-born Imavov capped of his X post with a 'face with tears of joy' emoji, jibing at Strickland by writing, "Yeah... that's cute. You'll be former champ by then." 

Yeah… that’s cute. You’ll be former champ by then 😂 https://t.co/yWkW9xuiss

— Imavov Nassourdine (@imavov1) June 30, 2026

Sean Strickland hinted at a potential UFC middleweight championship defense against Nassourdine Imavov

Ex-UFC middleweight champion Khamzat Chimaev has been campaigning for an immediate title rematch against Sean Strickland. Well, Strickland is rehabilitating a shoulder injury and targeting a December return, and the UFC hasn't officially announced his next fight as of yet. 

Nassourdine Imavov, who also hasn't had his next fight announced yet, recently revisited Strickland's own remarks at the UFC 328 Post Show wherein the newly-crowned champion hinted that Imavov is next in line to fight him. 

Strickland said, "I think what did they say, Nassourdine's next?" He added, "Yeah. So he's next." Intriguingly, Imavov replied to an X post comprising a video of Strickland's remarks and mocked him for supposedly being "real quiet" since then and allegedly avoiding their rematch. 

Been real quiet ever since 😂

— Imavov Nassourdine (@imavov1) June 15, 2026