Nassourdine Imavov, teammate of Francis Ngannou from Fernand Lopez era, reacts to PFL signing (Exclusive)

Nassourdine Imavov has reacted to Francis Ngannou's stunning move to the Professional Fighters League (PFL), after it was announced that the former UFC heavyweight champion had signed a multi-fight deal.

Ngannou relinquished his UFC heavyweight title back in January after failing to agree a new contract with the promotion. 'The Predator' was keen to box whilst signed to the organization, but Dana White refused to entertain the notion.

Instead, the Cameroonian fighter walked away from the UFC and his future had remained unclear until his announcement with the PFL earlier this week. The contract not only entitles Francis Ngannou to seven-figure sums for fighting and the freedom to box, he also now owns equity in the organization and is the chairman of PFL Africa.

Reacting to the Ngannou news this week was Nassourdine Imavov, who spoke exclusively to Sportskeeda MMA. Imavov is a former teammate of Ngannou, as the pair previously trained together at the MMA Factory in France under the tutelage of Fernand Lopez.

According to Imavov, he was confused by the announcement and just wants to see the heavyweight star in action:

"I'm a little bit confused to be honest. I just want to see him fighting. I want to see how he's gonna be. It's too bad we don't see him in the biggest stage and company in the UFC."

Catch Nassourdine Imavov's exclusive interview here (11:30):

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Nassourdine Imavov on fighting Chris Curtis at UFC 289

Nassourdine Imavov returns to the octagon at UFC 289 in June when he takes on Chris Curtis.

Both Imavov and Curtis are looking to bounce back into the win column after losing their fights last time out. Imavov came up short in a short-notice 205-pound bout against Sean Strickland, whereas Curtis narrowly lost out to Kelvin Gastelum in UFC 287's Fight of the Night.

The Russian-born French middleweight discussed his upcoming bout with 'The Action Man' during his interview with Sportskeeda MMA. Imavov stated he's even more motivated to get the win over Curtis because the American is a training partner of Sean Strickland:

"I feel last time [Chris Curtis] was in the corner for Strickland. So between Strickland and him, I have seen his weakness. He's going to try and do everything to work on his mistakes and weakness. I'm going to give what everyone wants to see. I'm always looking for work and I like to fight. I think it's going to be a great fight." [5:30]