Strickland vs Imavov

Who won Strickland vs Imavov?

Sean Strickland beat Nassourdine Imavov by unanimous decision in their 5 round contest during the main event of UFC Fight Night, on Saturday 14th January 2023 in the United States.

The scorecards were announced as 49-46, 49-46, 48-47 in favor of the winner Sean Strickland.

The fight was scheduled to take place over 5 rounds in the Light Heavyweight division, which meant the weight limit was 205 pounds (14.6 stone or 93 KG).

Strickland vs Imavov stats

Sean Strickland stepped into the octagon with a record of 25 wins, 5 losses and 0 draws, 10 of those wins coming by the way of knock out and 4 by submission.

Nassourdine Imavov made his way to the cage with a record of 12 wins, 3 losses and 0 draws, 5 of those wins coming by knock out and 4 by submission.

This was Sean Strickland's 23rd fight in the UFC, having made his debut for the promotion in 2014. Nassourdine Imavov marked his 11th fight for them, having made his own debut for the promotion in 2020.

Sean Strickland's UFC record stood at 16-7-0, while Nassourdine Imavov's came in at 8-2-0.

The stats suggested Imavov had a slight advantage in power over Strickland, with a 42% knock out percentage over Strickland's 40%.

If the fight went to the ground, their records suggested Imavov had an advantage over Strickland, with a 33% submission rate over Strickland's 16%.

Sean Strickland was the older man by 5 years, at 34 years old.

Imavov had a height advantage of 2 inches over Strickland. Despite this, both fighters had a equal reach.

Strickland was the more experienced professional fighter, having had 15 more fights, and made his debut in 2008, 7 years and 10 months earlier than Imavov, whose first professional fight was in 2016. He had fought 51 more professional rounds, 99 to Imavov's 48.

Strickland vs Imavov form

Strickland had beaten 3 of his last 5 opponents, stopping 1 of them, going to the judges twice.

In his last fight leading up to this contest, he had lost to Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 312 on 8th February 2025 by unanimous decision in their UFC Middleweight championship fight at Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney, Australia.

Previous to that, he had won against Paulo Costa at UFC 302 on 1st June 2024 by split decision in their 5 round contest at Prudential Center, Newark, United States.

Going into that contest, he had been beaten by Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 297 on 20th January 2024 by split decision in their UFC Middleweight championship fight at Scotiabank Arena, Toronto, Canada.

Before that, he had beaten Israel Adesanya at UFC 293 on 9th September 2023 by unanimous decision in their UFC Middleweight championship fight at Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney, Australia.

He had defeated Abusupiyan Magomedov at UFC Fight Night – Strickland vs. Magomedov on 1st July 2023 by knockout in the 2nd round at UFC Apex, Las Vegas, United States.

Imavov had beaten 4 of his last 5 opponents, stopping 2 of them, going the distance twice.

In his last fight before this contest, he was victorious against Israel Adesanya at UFC Fight Night: Adesanya vs. Imavov on 1st February 2025 by knockout in the 2nd round at Kingdom Arena, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Previous to that, he had won against Brendan Allen at UFC Fight Night: Moicano vs. Saint-Denis on 28th September 2024 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at Accor Arena, Paris, France.

Going into that contest, he had beaten Jared Cannonier at UFC Fight Night: Cannonier vs. Imavov on 8th June 2024 by knockout in the 4th round at KFC Yum! Center, Louisville, United States.

Before that, he had defeated Roman Dolidze at UFC Fight Night: Dolidze vs. Imavov on 3rd February 2024 by majority decision in their 5 round contest at UFC Apex, Las Vegas.

His fight against Chris Curtis at UFC 289 on 10th June 2023 ended in a no contest.

Activity check

In terms of activity leading into the fight, Sean Strickland had been fighting more than Nassourdine Imavov.

Going to this contest, Sean Strickland had last fought 2 months and 8 days ago, while Nassourdine Imavov's last outing had been 2 months and 15 days ago.

Strickland's last 5 fights had come over a period of 1 year, 9 months and 15 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 4 months and 11 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 22 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 4.4 rounds on average.

Imavov's last 5 fights had come over a period of 1 year, 10 months and 6 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 4 months and 15 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 16 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 3.2 rounds on average.

What were the odds on Strickland vs Imavov?

Sean Strickland was a 11/10 (+110) underdog going into the contest, while Nassourdine Imavov made his way into the ring at 3/4 (-130) with oddsmakers.