Sean Strickland celebrates after beating Nassourdine Imavov at the UFC Apex, inset throwback banner. Credit: Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Sean Strickland beat current top contender on short notice to earn his only UFC light heavyweight win

Originally posted on Bloody Elbow | By Kyle Dimond | Last updated Jan 15, 2026 12:01 AM ET

On this day in 2023, Sean Strickland proved himself to be a valuable asset to the UFC.

Strickland is putting in the work ahead of his upcoming return to the Octagon which will be his first fight in over a year.

The former UFC middleweight champion is set to face Anthony Hernandez in the main event of UFC Houston on February 21.

Following a long break after a disappointing outing at UFC 312, some have questioned whether Strickland’s best days are behind him.

One thing that’s for certain is that he was at his best when he was able to stay more active, as was the case when he stepped up to save a main event on fight week.

Sean Strickland put the pressure on Nassourdine Imavov in a short-notice fight up a weight class

On Monday, January 9 in 2023, Sean Strickland replaced an injured Kelvin Gastelum to headline UFC Vegas 67 on short notice.

The controversial American had only competed the previous month, going five rounds with Jared Cannonier and suffering a split decision loss that he heavily debated.

Another tough test awaited him at the Apex in the form of France’s Nassourdine Imavov.

His shortened preparation didn’t impact Strickland’s trademark output and pressure, with him outlanding his opponent by 182 significant strikes to 123.

Due to the short notice nature of the bout, it took place at light heavyweight, with Strickland being declared the winner on all three scorecards after five competitive rounds, with two judges seeing the bout 49-46.

Imavov, who Khamzat Chimaev has named as his next challenger for the middleweight title, had a no contest in his following bout before putting together a five-fight win streak to climb to the top of the division.

As for Strickland, his second outing of 2023 saw him stop Abus Magomedov in the second round which would end up being the victory that secured him a title shot against Israel Adesanya at UFC 293.

Sean Strickland recently suggested that he could fight at light heavyweight again

Sean Strickland believes that Khamzat Chimaev being the middleweight champion has left the division “on ice” due to how active the undefeated titleholder is.

The former champ spoke about this in a video posted on X, where he suggested that his hopes of winning another belt would be simpler to accomplish if he moved up a division to fight at light heavyweight again.

“The middleweight division doesn’t exist,” Strickland said. “I’d be better off trying to fight for a 205 belt than I would the middleweight belt. It just doesn’t exist anymore, man. This is what we’ve got.”

Strickland, who has fought at welterweight in the UFC, competed at light heavyweight in his third pro fight, submitting his opponent in just under two minutes.

This article first appeared on Bloody Elbow and was syndicated with permission.

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