Nassourdine Imavov holds overwhelming trader consensus as Sean Strickland’s next opponent because the UFC has positioned the middleweight contender for a title shot at UFC 335 in December, following Imavov’s five-fight win streak that includes stoppages of Jared Cannonier and Israel Adesanya. Imavov remains the only fighter to have faced Strickland since the champion’s 2023 short-notice light-heavyweight victory over him, and both the promotion and Strickland have publicly endorsed the matchup as the immediate defense after Strickland’s split-decision win over Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 328. Chimaev and Dricus Du Plessis trail far behind in implied probability because recent scheduling and contender positioning have sidelined them. An injury to either Strickland or Imavov, a late promotional pivot toward a Chimaev rematch, or an unexpected contender surge could still alter the booking before fight week.