Nassourdine Imavov-Chris Curtis feud: When and how did the alleged beef between the two middleweights begin?

Nassourdine Imavov picked up a top-10 win over Roman Dolidze at UFC Vegas 85 last week but the biggest story of the night was his side quest feud with Chris Curtis.

Picking up a one-point penalty deduction in the fourth round, Imavov kicked a clearly-down Dolidze in the face in a controversial moment. Immediately following the stoppage from referee Herb Dean, Imavov turned his attention to Dolidze's corner and exchanged heated words with Curtis, another Xtreme Couture middleweight.

Taking exception to the illegal kick, Curtis argued with the Russian in defense of his teammate. However, the bad blood between the two middleweights originated at UFC 289 when Imavov and Curtis fought to a no-contest due to an accidental headbutt rendering the American unable to continue.

Since their no-contest meeting, Curtis has continuously called Imavov a 'dirty' fighter, and he also tweeted his thoughts after cornering Dolidze at UFC Vegas 85.

Imavov has now faced three middleweights from Xtreme Couture in roughly one year with a record of 1-1 and one no-contest. In his three most recent fights, the 'Russian Sniper' lost to Sean Strickland at UFC Vegas 67 before facing Curtis and Dolidze.

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Nassourdine Imavov shades Chris Curtis for UFC 289 no-contest in UFC Vegas 85 post-fight interview

In his post-fight interview after defeating Roman Dolidze, Nassourdine Imavov — who was largely in control of the UFC 289 bout before the clash of heads — did not pass up the opportunity to fire back at his former opponent.

Loosely translated to English, Imavov said:

"[Chris Curtis] talks too much... Huge respect to Dolidze. He continued fighting after the [illegal] head kick. Chris Curtis wouldn't have done that. Dolidze is the man."

In his post-fight press conference, Imavov challenged Chris Curtis to a gym fight 'rematch' but no-sold the idea of a second fight in the octagon due to having entered the top 10 of the division and pursuing higher-ranked opponents.

Imavov called for a rematch with Sean Strickland in his next fight, to no response from the former champion. Strickland and Curtis both competed at UFC 297, with the former losing his title to Dricus du Plessis and the latter picking up a decision win over Marc-Andre Barriault.