Nassourdine Imavov is not setting himself up for success, so says Chael Sonnen.
Earlier this month, Sean Strickland shocked the MMA world, upsetting Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 328 to reclaim the welterweight title. After the win, Strickland made it clear that he wants to bring meritocracy back to the middleweight belt, saying Imavov deserves a title shot next. But that might not end up happening.
Chimaev is one of the most popular fighters in the UFC, and has been campaigning hard for a rematch with Strickland since the loss, with members of his team blaming his poor performance on a bad weight cut for the fight. As a result, UFC CEO Dana White acknowledged that the promotion has not decided what it’s going to do about the title situation, and Sonnen says this is only working for Chimaev because Imavov hasn’t drawn any interest.
“It doesn’t matter to any of them, including Chimaev’s team. They’re just pretending it matters,” Sonnen said on his YouTube channel about the weight cut excuse. “Why? Because it keeps a headline and a topic that involves Chimaev and Strickland.
“Imavov, rightfully by us as a community, should be next for a world title, regardless of who is champion. … Imavov was next. As a community, that is what we believe. But Imavov hasn’t demanded that. Imavov hasn’t said a word. He has not spoken up. He’s got the blessing of Sean Strickland. Sean Strickland spoke about this one time and say, ‘Yes, I will rematch Chimaev, but that’s going to have to wait, but Imavov is owed. Imavov is the rightful guy. I’m going to fight Imavov.’
“That is the blessing and the kiss. That is all Imavov needs in conjunction with some headlines, and he’s not getting them.”
Imavov is currently riding a five-fight winning streak and has gone unbeaten since losing to Sean Strickland in a short-notice light heavyweight bout in 2023. Nevertheless, Imavov has never been the kind of fighter who generates buzzy headlines, but Sonnen says his inability to create any interest at all in a Strickland fight is poison.
“We’re going to have a real hard time building a beef between Chimaev and Strickland who just got done laughing at us for believing their beef in the first place, so they’ve gone to a new angle. Which is the angle of the weight cut. The built-in excuse. The, ‘If I had only done this one thing, which I have no identified, different, you would not have beat me.’ It’s not the most compelling story out there, but it’s the only story out there,” Sonnen said.
“‘Chimaev should beat Strickland and Chimaev should rematch Strickland because he can flip the result, and he can flip the result because of this one thing, the weight cut,’ is a lot bigger story than Imavov’s put out, which is nothing.”
Despite the criticisms, Imavov seems content to wait, and appears unbothered by the whole situation. Instead, posting on social media that he believes everything will work out as everyone originally thought, and tagging Strickland and UFC matchmaker Mick Maynard.
Plenty of talk around the championship fight lately. I believe everyone will stand on what they said #hunter #nohappyending
Even if Imavov is right, he may have to wait awhile. Strickland went into UFC 329 with several injuries and may be looking at several months of recovery before returning to action.
Delusions. Ronda Rousey responds to Holly Holm, claims she would ‘clean her clock’ in a rematch but insists ‘I’m retired.’
Bugs. Joe Rogan complains about UFC White House being outdoors: ‘I don’t like it.’
Profits. Dana White scoffs at UFC fighter pay compared to WNBA players making $270K minimum.
Spider. Anderson Silva fires back at Dana White over UFC exit: ‘I saved the promotion more than once.’
BKFC. Darren Till reveals what made him finally try bare-knuckle fighting and why he’s ‘85 percent’ certain he’s done with MMA.
Odds. Islam Makhachev: Don’t count out ‘old warhorse’ Justin Gaethje vs. Ilia Topuria at UFC White House.
UFC Macau faceoffs and weigh-ins.
Alex Volkanovski breaks down Topuria vs. Gaethje.
Michael Bisping breaks down the same thing.
Yours truly on Submission Radio.
SOCIAL MEDIA BOUILLABAISSE
RAF moving up in the world.
If Daukaus comes out in a flying saucer, he should win.
Alessandro Costa (15-5) vs. Matt Schnell (17-10, 1 NC); UFC Vegas 118, June 6
Jared Cannonier (18-9) vs. Christian Leroy Duncan (14-2); UFC Oklahoma City, July 18
Kevin Holland (29-15) vs. Jacobe Smith (12-0); UFC Oklahoma City, July 18
Jon Jones, played by Mehcad Brooks
On the one hand, it would be so stupid for Chimaev to get an immediate rematch. On the other hand, this is the UFC in 2026.
Fun sport. Sorry, Nas, but Chael might be right. — Meshew
If you find something you’d like to see in the Morning Report, hit up @AlexanderKLee of @JedKMeshew on Twitter and let us know about it. Also, follow MMAFighting on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, Twitch, and like us on Facebook.
Read the full article here
