Jack Hermansson explains calling out Nassourdine Imavov following UFC Vegas 86 win over Joe Pyfer: “I think he makes the most sense”

Jack Hermansson has explained why he called out Nassourdine Imavov following his big win this past Saturday.

In the main event of a UFC Fight Night card inside the UFC Apex, Hermansson went one-on-one with Joe Pyfer. Going into the fight, “The Joker” knew that he was being set up as a stepping stone for Pyfer, but he showed that there’s levels to the MMA game. After a shaky opening round, Hermansson was able to find his groove and had success against Joe on the feet. In the end, Hermansson won the fight via unanimous decision.

During the UFC Vegas 86 post-fight scrum, Hermansson said he had no intentions of being used to elevate Pyfer’s career (h/t MMAJunkie).

“He didn’t have a ranking and I feel like he had more exposure than I did for this fight, but I understand why,” Hermansson said. “He has an amazing story, he’s coming through the contender series, and he has a lot of eyes on him. He should get the shot like this, but then you also need to perform to take it to the next level, and I was not going to be that stepping stone.”

RELATED: JOE PYFER ISSUES STATEMENT FOLLOWING LOSS TO JACK HERMANSSON AT UFC VEGAS 86

Jack Hermansson on Nassourdine Imavov Callout

During his post-fight interview with Daniel Cormier, Jack Hermansson called for a showdown with Nassourdine Imavov. “The Joker” explained why he feels Imavov is the right opponent for his next outing.

“I just watched the rankings and I fought a lot of guys up there, and I obviously can’t fight an unranked opponent and go directly to the top, so I need to fight someone close to me in the rankings,” Hermansson said at the UFC Fight Night 236 post-fight press conference. “I think he makes the most sense at the moment.”

Taking a look at the official UFC middleweight rankings, Hermansson will be keeping his number 11 spot in the rankings at the very least. Imavov holds the number eight spot.