Joe Pyfer recently shared his thoughts on Nassourdine Imavov pulling up on Sean Strickland at the UFC PI and slammed the Russian-born Frenchman’s actions.

After Strickland beat Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 328 in May to reclaim the UFC middleweight title, Imavov emerged as the frontrunner for the next title shot. ‘The Sniper’ is coming off a unanimous decision win over Caio Borralho last September and is on an impressive five-fight win streak.

In their previous encounter at UFC Vegas 67 in January 2023, Strickland outpointed Imavov over five rounds in a light heavyweight matchup. While many are eager to see them throw down again, Strickland has made it clear that he won’t sign the fight contract until the UFC meets his pay demands.

Strickland holding out on signing the fight contract appears to have irked Imavov, and the Russian-born Frenchman confronted ‘Tarzan’ at the UFC PI earlier this month. Their heated exchange went viral online and seemingly set the tone for their potential showdown.

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In an interview with Tim Welch, Pyfer criticized Imavov’s actions and dismissed them as “ridiculous” antics. He said:

“It’s not like he’s holding up the division. I think the whole antics stuff with like Nassourdine Imavov following him around, it’s a little bit ridiculous. I get it. He’s trying to sell it, but it’s like, brother, he’s not afraid of you. He already beat you… Imavov wants it back. He’s been waiting almost two years, but that’s like his problem. Getting in the cage has nothing to do with Nassourdine Imavov.”

Sean Strickland calls Nassourdine Imavov “cringe” for UFC PI confrontation

Sean Strickland recently reacted to Nassourdine Imavov pulling up on him at the UFC PI and claimed it was all for “fake content.”

In an X post, the two-time UFC middleweight champion slammed Imavov’s actions and said:

“Cringe… his training partner knows our schedule because he’s trained with us. Tuesday and Thursday, 10 am, [at] Xtreme [Couture]. But instead chose to go to the PI with the nicest underpaid staff and full security to get content. Definition of cringe. It was all fake content. If anything, it’s just mildly uncomfortable. 4 guys with iPhones and security, lol; I just felt awkward.”