UFC 335 has been officially announced for December 12th in Las Vegas, Nevada and will be headlined by a BMF title fight Charles Oliveira and Diego Lopes. As exciting as this matchup is, it could have been a backup if negotiations for a middleweight title fight fell through.
Sources told MMA Mania that a 185-pound title fight between Sean Strickland and Nassourdine Imavov was heavily discussed for the final UFC main event of 2026, which took place at T-Mobile Arena. But talks eventually broke down, prompting the UFC to pull the BMF belt to headline the card.
“Sean Strickland was available and ready to go for UFC 335,” wrote MMA Mania’s Alex Behunin on X (formerly Twitter). “He didn’t have any injuries in the crash – the UFC went in a different direction, according to sources.”
This crash was a 60 mph side by side ATV rollover from last week, according to Strickland, the head bounced off the ground. “Tarzan” managed to walk away unscathed, but couldn’t keep UFC negotiations intact.
The middleweight champion shared on social media that the fight with Imavov was in the works, complete with a finishing move being money. Strickland certainly did the highest salary of his career when he fought Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 328. Imavov is a much smaller fight, but would Sean accept a smaller fee for his first title defense?
“It’s not about the injury, he’s asking for more money to fight Imavov,” wrote an Instagram commenter. “Bingo,” Strickland answered below.
