"We have to fight, we have no other choice," Nassourdine Imavov replies when the questions turn to a possible meeting with Khamzat Chimaev. Both men had said before that friendship kept the fight off the table, but the situation has shifted sharply and the collision now looks unavoidable. Imavov comes into it on a five-fight winning run in the UFC middleweight division, having stopped Israel Adesanya and Jared Cannonier by technical knockout, and he is ready to walk back into the Octagon. He speaks about respect and mutual friends, which rules out any trash talk, yet he has no doubt about what the fight itself would deliver. He promises supporters it would be a far better watch than Chimaev's meeting with Sean Strickland. The friendship stays outside the cage; inside it there is only ruthless competition and a shot at the title.