Nassourdine Imavov is adamant about fighting Sean Strickland, and he is ready to shell out a substantial sum of dollars from his own pocket.
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An X user has claimed that Strickland demanded a million dollars to fight Imavov at UFC 336, which is targeted for January 16, but the UFC only offered him $400,000 to show and win. So far, ‘Tarzan’ has neither confirmed nor refuted those claims. Still, the rumor was enough for Imavov to declare himself ready to offer Strickland money from his own purse.
“😂😂😂 If it’s really about money, I’ll put $500K of my own money on the line if you beat me in January @SStricklandMMA, putting this on record. If you still don’t take it, then you’re just scared. I’ll handle you outside. @ufc THIS is your champ? Come on, STRIP HIM #NoHappyEnding.”
Imavov offering a substantial amount from his purse to fight Strickland surprised many. But the French-Dagestani is essentially trying to salvage his shot at the title, and he doesn’t care if that costs him money.
😂😂😂 If it’s really about money, I’ll put $500K of my own money on the line if you beat me in January @SStricklandMMA putting this on record If you still don’t take it, then you’re just scared. I’ll handle you outside. @ufc THIS is your champ? Come on STRIP HIM #NoHappyEnding
Sean Strickland is asking for 1 million dollars to fight on January 16th at UFC 336 against Imavov, while they are only offering him 400k show, 400k win.
After being sidelined for almost a year, Imavov—on a 5-fight winning streak—has finally found himself in line for the middleweight championship once again. A week ago, Strickland confirmed on X that he’s in negotiations with the UFC to defend his belt against the “Fake Frenchman.”
With the fight getting very close, it’s understandable that the 30-year-old doesn’t want to blow his chance to fight for the belt just because Strickland’s negotiations with the UFC aren’t going well.
Many believed that Strickland’s title defense would naturally make sense at UFC 335 in December since most championships are either settled or booked before the event. Plus, the UFC would have wanted to close out the year with an undisputed title on the line.
Unfortunately, Strickland and the UFC couldn’t come to terms on the fight, and the promotion had to pivot to Charles Oliveira defending his BMF belt against Diego Lopes at UFC 335 headliner.
However, going by Imavov’s revelation, their clash in January could still be on.
This is the first time the Frenchman has offered to pay out of his own pocket to save a pivotal fight in his career, but he is not alone in this regard.
Before him, Khabib Nurmagomedov offered Tony Ferguson $200k from his own pocket in 2017 after ‘El Cucuy’ hit a snag in negotiations with the UFC. Even so, the fight never materialized between the lightweights.
Strickland has also recently shared a glimpse into his situation with the UFC, seemingly confirming that he is indeed in a pay dispute with the promotion.
Sean Strickland confirms negotiation issues with UFC
While the UFC unveiled the marquee bouts for the final event of the year during the UFC 332 broadcast, social media creator Ruben Carter posted on Instagram that Sean Strickland was out of UFC 335 because of his ATV accident in late September. However, a fan quickly refuted the post, writing that ‘Tarzan’ was actually demanding more money from the UFC and the two sides hadn’t come to terms.
Strickland then entered the comments section of the post and confirmed that the fan’s theory was indeed true.
“Bingo lol,” Strickland wrote on the fan’s comment, seemingly acknowledging that he is, in fact, having a pay dispute with the UFC regarding the Imavov fight.
Besides the current dispute, this isn’t the first time Strickland has clashed with the UFC over pay.
After losing to Dricus du Plessis for the first time at UFC 297, Strickland was slated to fight Paulo Costa. However, the Brazilian claimed ‘Tarzan’ was afraid to fight him and refused to sign the contract.
Strickland then took to social media and revealed that the UFC had offered him very little money to take the fight.
A fan asked whether he was getting $200k to show and win. Strickland replied that it was close, implying that he was being offered even less for the fight. Ultimately, Strickland took the fight against Paulo Costa at UFC 302 and won via split decision.
That said, hopefully the middleweight title fight will find some solace with the negotiations finally settled, and a Strickland vs. Imavov rematch could materialize soon.