UFC finalizing Chris Curtis vs. Nassourdine Imavov at UFC 289

A middleweight bout is heading to Vancouver.

Chris Curtis and Nassourdine Imavov have agreed to fight at UFC 289, the promotion’s first post-pandemic event in Canada. The card takes place June 10 at Rogers Arena.

A person with knowledge of the matchup recently informed MMA Junkie of the targeted booking with the promotion shortly after the UFC officially announced the bout. MMA Fighting first reported the news Wednesday.

The two fighters were scheduled to face each other pre-UFC at ARES FC 2 in October 2020, but the event was canceled due to COVID-19 complications.

Curtis (30-10 MMA, 4-2 UFC) recently competed April 8 at UFC 287 in Miami when he lost a unanimous decision to Kelvin Gastelum. The loss was his second in three fights. Curtis announced after the defeat he would appeal the loss on the grounds that an inadvertent headbutt in Round 2 led to the defeat.

Imavov (12-4 MMA, 4-2 UFC) looks to bounce back from a unanimous decision defeat to Sean Strickland in the UFC Fight Night 217 main event Jan. 14. The loss snapped a three-fight winning streak that included victories over Ian Heinisch, Edmen Shahbazyan, and Joaquin Buckley.

With the addition, the UFC 289 lineup includes:

• Champion Amanda Nunes vs. Julianna Peña – for women’s bantamweight title
• Stephen Thompson vs. Michel Pereira
• Dan Ige vs. Nate Landwehr
• Chris Curtis vs. Nassourdine Imavov
• Jasmine Jasudavicius vs. Miranda Maverick
• Eryk Anders vs. Marc-Andre Barriault
• Diana Belbita vs. Maria Oliveira
• Blake Bilder vs. Kyle Nelson
• David Dvorak vs. Matt Schnell
• Lucas Almeida vs. Hakeem Dawodu
• Aori Qileng vs. Aiemann Zahabi

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 289.