Nassourdine Imavov explained why he began arguing with Chris Curtis during the UFC Vegas 85 main event.
On Saturday night, Imavov fought for the first time in 2024 when he faced Roman Dolidze in the UFC Vegas 85 main event. The ranked middleweight matchup wasn’t overly action-packed, but the Frenchman secured a much-needed majority decision win.
The most discussed aspect of Saturday’s main event was the growing rivalry between Imavov and Curtis, which began when they fought in June 2023. Imavov was getting the best of the fight before an accidental clash of heads led to a no-contest.
Bit of drama at the APEX! 🍿
Seemingly a bit of unfinished business between Nassourdine Imavov and Chris Curtis… #UFCVegas85 pic.twitter.com/Iv4iDwHhMS
— UFC Europe (@UFCEurope) February 4, 2024
At UFC Vegas 85, Curtis was cornering Dolidze and continued screaming at Imavov, leading to a verbal argument during a break in the fight. Following his majority decision win, Imavov had this to say about Curtis during his post-fight press conference:
“I was upset because the guy Chris Curtis keeps talking in every fight he’s cornering. He keeps talking to me. This is not his job as a cornerman to talk to the fighter. When I went into the cage against him, he was very silent, got dominated, and even quit the fight because of the head butt.”
Imavov continued by saying this when asked if he was interested in potentially facing Curtis in a rematch:
“I’m not at all interested by Chris Curtis. First of all, he’s so low on the rankings. Second of all, I did a masterclass against him. I just dominated, he couldn’t do anything in the cage. If he really wants to keep talking, I can go to this gym, and we can do a real tough sparring session, and I’m going to destroy him as I did in the cage. Before Roman Dolidze, we proposed a rematch in UFC Paris and he declined.”
Watch Imavov talk about Curtis during his UFC Vegas 85 post-fight interview below:
Nassourdine Imavov explained why Chris Curtis pissed him off and challenged Curtis to "a real tough sparring session" at Xtreme Couture #UFCVegas85
— Jake Foley🇺🇸🥋 (@JFoMMATalk) February 4, 2024
Chris Curtis ridicules Nassourdine Imavov for UFC Vegas 85 performance against Roman Dolidze
The UFC Vegas 85 main event was filled with controversy, as Nassourdine Imavov landed several accidental eye pokes and illegally kicked Roman Dolidze in the head while grounded. As a result, Chris Curtis attempted to discredit Imavov’s win by saying this on Twitter:
“4 eye pokes 2 head butts and kicking a downed opponent What a time to be alive…”
Nassourdine Imavov called out Sean Strickland following his win on Saturday night. In Jan. 2023, Imavov and Strickland fought in a fight night main event, with the latter emerging victorious by unanimous decision and later becoming the UFC middleweight champion.
It should be noted that Strickland and Curtis are close friends and training partners, adding to the storyline of Imavov’s disdain for the two middleweights.
