The fight remains a five-round fight, but will take place not in the middle, but in the light heavyweight category.
Nassurdin Imavov, a 27-year-old native of Dagestan representing France, is on a three-fight streak in the UFC, winning a unanimous decision over Joaquin Buckley in his last fight.
31-year-old Sean Strickland, on the other hand, suffered two defeats in a row, losing by knockout to Alex Pereira and losing a split decision to Jared Cannonier, with the American having his last fight on December 17, headlining the final UFC tournament last year.
Sean Strickland and Nassurdin Imavov are currently ranked seventh and twelfth in the UFC middleweight rankings, respectively.
UFC Fight Night 217 will be the organization’s first show of the year and will take place on January 14 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.