Imavov is the No. 1 contender at middleweight and has a shot at a title shot. Yet no fight has been booked and that is because Chimaev suffered an injury.
“So no definitive news yet,” says Imavov told MMA Fighting. “There’s no contract signed or anything. One of the last conversations I had with them was with Hunter Campbell and Mick Maynard in Doha, Qatar, when it was a Doha event. And what they told me is that they wanted to schedule the fight against Khamzat for December and then for February, but then Khamzat got injured and they were thinking about when they could (have) this fight.
“But nothing has been confirmed yet. We recently spoke to Mick Maynard, the matchmaker, and he was [talking about] the fight against Khamzat, but we don’t have final approval yet, or anything.”
Nassourdine Imavov expects to play against Khamzat Chimaev
Although Chimaev has hinted at moving up to light heavyweight, Imavov is confident he will get that fight first. While Imavov knows Chimaev will likely be at light heavyweight in the future, the Frenchman is confident Dana White will let him make at least one title defense.
“I know him, he is very heavy for the middleweight division and that is why he wants to go to 205,” Imavov explained. “Now Dana said he doesn’t want anyone to go up there without defending. So if Dana says so, then it is. And that’s the UFC that ultimately controls everything.”
“But when we talk about Khamzat’s rise, as we’ve seen some exceptions in the past and all that, and Khamzat might be a big enough star to go up without defending, but ultimately it doesn’t matter. It’ll be the UFC’s choice. What about me? I’m ready for anything.”
Imavov is 17-4 and one NC and is coming off a decision win over Caio Borralho.
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