Gastelum announced via social media that he has signed a contract for the bout, and ESPN later confirmed that Imavov has agreed to the pairing, as well. UFC 273 takes place on April 9 at an as yet to be determined location and is headlined by a featherweight title clash between Alexander Volkanovski and Chan Sung Jung.
Gastelum has struggled in recent years, posting a 1-5 record inside the Octagon since 2019. However, “The Ultimate Fighter 17” winner has faced only top competition during that time, falling to the likes of Israel Adesanya, Darren Till, Jack Hermansson, Robert Whittaker and Jared Cannonier. His lone victory in that stretch came via unanimous decision against Ian Heinisch at UFC 258.
A native of Paris, France, Imavov is a rising talent at 185 pounds with a 3-1 record within the Las Vegas-based promotion. The MMA Factory representative rebounded from a closely contested majority decision loss against Phil Hawes at UFC Fight Night 185 to post back-to-back TKO finishes of Heinisch and Edmen Shahbazyan in his last two outings.