Sean Strickland‘s heated pay dispute with the UFC has created a frustrating situation for both the champ and the promotion. However, the trickle-down effect of that deadlock has reached Nassourdine Imavov, who is eyeing a title shot against Strickland. Both fighters engaged in a fiery confrontation that went viral.

A clip showed Imavov arriving at Strickland’s gym, Xtreme Couture, with his teammates. After the French-Russian couldn’t find the middleweight champion there, he turned to social media and called Strickland saying, “Sign the contract. Do you need a pen? Or do you need b—s?” Eventually, Imavov went to the UFC Performance Institute, where he finally found Strickland.  

A subsequent video on X showed Imavov confronting Strickland at the UFC PI while surrounded by their respective teammates and security guards.

“What is the problem?” Imavov asked. “You not sign the contract?      

“Say what?” Strickland responded. 

“You not sign the contract? What is the problem? Money?” Imavov replied. “I have money… I give (you). Strickland!”   

The clip then showed Strickland moving outside the PI with his team. Imavov explained that the Nevada-based fighter’s insults are what actually got under his skin.

“The problem is he talks s—t every time—social media,” Imavov told what appeared to be UFC PI security. “I’m here now… he’s going. He is a p—y, bro!”

Right after, Imavov watched Strickland’s team file out of the building; he started goading him again. 

“Where are you going? Imavov added. “I’m here! Where are you going? What you gonna do now?” 

Looking at ‘The Sniper’s’ relentless tirade toward Sean Strickland, someone in the distance who appeared to be with the middleweight champ advised Imavov to calm down.

“Nass (Imavov), stop,” the man said. “This isn’t helping! 

However, Imavov continued to provoke and was trying to approach Strickland’s team.

“Shut your mouth,” Imavov said.

Despite the man’s desperate attempt to calm the situation, Imavov suddenly tried to rush toward Strickland and his team. But the security stopped him immediately, sparing the situation from further escalation.   

Imavov’s pursuit to confront Strickland comes after the middleweight champion became embroiled in a pay standoff with the UFC. ‘Tarzan’ allegedly demanded a million dollars to fight the French-Russian. However, the UFC reportedly offered him only $400k to show and $400k to win for his title defense against Imavov.

‘The Sniper,’ whose patience wore thin after being repeatedly sidelined from a title shot, promised $500k from his own pocket to Strickland just to secure his opportunity at gold. But Strickland’s refusal to sign the contract so far compelled him to confront him at the PI. 

Following the heated episode that went down at the Performance Institute, Sean Strickland has finally reacted to the altercation with Imavov.  

Sean Strickland speaks out after viral standoff with Nassourdine Imavov

For his part, Sean Strickland, who is notorious for never backing down from a confrontation, remained fairly composed when Nassourdine Imavov approached him at the UFC PI. But after the chaotic situation subsided, ‘Tarzan’ took to X and shared his thoughts.

“Cringe… his training partner knows our schedule because he’s trained with us. But instead chose to go to the PI with the nicest underpaid staff and full security to get content,” Strickland wrote on X. “It was all fake content. If anything, it’s just mildly uncomfortable. 4 guys with iPhones and security lol I just felt awkward.”

Unsurprisingly, Strickland wasn’t quite thrilled seeing Imavov show up with his team. However, this seems to be the first time the Russian-French fighter has been involved in a confrontation. Imavov faced Strickland in January 2023, where he lost via unanimous decision, but outside the clash inside the Octagon, his conduct has remained fairly clean.

Strickland, on the other hand, is known for colliding with his opponents before the fight even starts. He had a viral confrontation with Khamzat Chimaev at the UFC 328 presser, where the Chechen fighter’s sudden kick to his groin plunged the situation into chaos.

Even before that, ‘Tarzan’ and Dricus du Plessis engaged in a heated brawl during the UFC 296 event, just ahead of their first fight at UFC 297. However, both of those situations unfolded with several professional cameras around them.

But Strickland once described a brief tense run-in with Ian Machado Garry at the UFC PI in late 2023, where security personnel had to separate them. The scuffle was a result of Strickland’s comments on Garry and his wife, Layla. 

The latest confrontation is just another chapter in Sean Strickland’s history of hostilities, now with a new name in Nassourdine Imavov. With both looking forward to fighting in the future, the heat could translate into more such altercations.