Report: Strickland–Imavov title rematch targeted for February in Florida
“It's going to be Imavov next,”
Sean Strickland's first title defence of his second middleweight reign is reportedly on the way — but it is a report, not a booking. The UFC has not announced the fight, and no date, city or venue has been confirmed.
MMA Junkie's Mike Bohn reported on Tuesday night that the UFC plans to bring Strickland back as part of its first-quarter schedule for a rematch with Nassourdine Imavov. The fight, Bohn said, is set for next February, "somewhere in Florida."
"It’s going to be Imavov next," Bohn said on his podcast, The Bohnfire, speaking with Luke Thomas. "I’ve heard it’s maybe even signed or close to signed for February for somewhere in Florida so I think this fight is happening."
That wording matters. "Maybe even signed or close to signed" is not signed, and the articles reporting it are careful to say the same: contracts are described as close to being signed, not done. Thomas, on the show, said he had "heard similar." Neither Strickland nor Imavov has reacted directly to the reporting, and UFC CEO Dana White has not commented on it either.
If the February target holds, the likely landing spot is UFC 337 — again, by elimination rather than announcement. UFC 336 is set for Saturday, January 30 in Toronto, and the February card would be the promotion's second numbered event of 2027. Nothing in the reporting names a Florida city or arena, and UFC 337 itself is described only as the likely event.
The rematch would be Strickland's first defence since regaining the belt. He beat Khamzat Chimaev by split decision at UFC 328 in May to win the middleweight title for a second time. It would also be a return to a familiar opponent: Strickland beat Imavov by unanimous decision at a UFC Fight Night in January 2023, a win that led to his first title fight, against Israel Adesanya later that year at UFC 293.
The backdrop to the report is a pay dispute that already cost Strickland a December date. He had been expected to headline UFC 335 in Las Vegas in December, but that plan fell through amid the disagreement over his pay. He has also previously insisted he will never fight in Canada again, which would have ruled out the Toronto card in any case.
Bohn pushed back on some of Strickland's pay comments in his reporting, saying several sources have said the champion continues to be paid well over a million dollars per fight and will earn somewhere around that ballpark for the Imavov rematch. That is Bohn's sourcing, not a figure confirmed by the UFC, and the articles do not present any single pay number as settled.
The other name in the picture is Chimaev. He still wants a rematch with Strickland, and Bohn acknowledged that is also the direction the UFC is likely trying to take — should Strickland win. That, too, is a possibility, not a booking.
For now, what exists is a targeted February fight in Florida, reported by Bohn and echoed by Thomas, with contracts described as close to signed and no announcement yet. Until the UFC says otherwise, Strickland–Imavov 2 is a plan taking shape, not a fight on the books.
