Nassourdine Imavov thinks Brendan Allen is in no position to be making so many demands.
Imavov (14-4 MMA, 6-2 UFC) takes on Allen (24-5 MMA, 12-2 UFC) in Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 243 (ESPN+) middleweight co-main event at Accor Arena in Paris. Allen initially said he wouldn’t fly to enemy territory to fight Imavov unless it’s a main event. He then accused Imavov of declining a five-round fight. Imavov is confused by Allen’s stipulations and said five rounds was never on the table.
“He wanted a lot of things, but it doesn’t matter,” Imavov told reporters through an interpreter at Wednesday’s UFC Fight Night 243 media day (h/t La Sueur). “He’s behind me. He doesn’t have hype. I have more hype than him, I’m better ranked than him. So, he has nothing to claim for.
“He’s coming to my city. The contract that the UFC sent was three rounds, and I’m not afraid of five rounds. If you see, my last fight against Jared was initially a three-round fight and then they came back to me two weeks before the fight to ask me to take a five-round main event, and it was no problem.”
If Imavov gets past Allen, he has his sights set on former champion Israel Adesanya.
“I heard media say that a fight with Adesanya would be good, and the people seem interested,” Imavov said. “It’s two correct styles, so I think it could be a great fight.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 243.
