Athletes
Caio Borralho | All Eyes On A Title Shot
With A New Champion Atop The Middleweight Division, “The Natural” Aims To Make A Statement By Defeating Nassourdine Imavov In Paris
The Fighting Nerds are on a roll. But honestly, that’s been the case since they were first introduced to UFC fans a few years back.
Coming off the heels of Carlos Prates’ insane spinning back elbow knockout in Chicago, Caio Borralho now gets the opportunity to make another statement when he enters his first fight in over a year against Nassourdine Imavov in Paris. He also gets the chance to do this after his teammate Mauricio Ruffy competes in the co-main event, adding on to the good energy that Prates started a few weeks ago.
“It's a mix of a lot of energy, but good energy for everyone,” Borralho said. “We're very committed to this sport, committed to this game. We put everything of ourselves into this, and all these weeks in the gym, it is so awesome because everybody's working very hard together. I'm very happy, very proud of us, very proud of where the team is right now and it's just the beginning. We're taking over and we're going to continue to do that.”
It's been quite some time since “The Natural” has been in the Octagon, his last outing coming against former middleweight title challenger Jared Cannonier last August, where he earned the nod after a competitive 25 minutes. The win marked his seventh straight win inside the Octagon, keeping his undefeated record in the UFC intact.
But now, he gets to take on the No. 2 ranked contender at 185 pounds, with the hopes of getting one step closer to the title shot. Borralho even weighed in three weeks ago as the backup fighter for the title fight between Dricus Du Plessis and Khamzat Chimaev in Chicago to show how ready he is to fight for the title.
According to Borralho, this fight with “The Sniper” has been a long time coming.
“A few months ago, they offered me to fight him at International Fight Week,” Borralho said. “He said no, because he wanted to be the backup or something like that and then after that he said that they offered him the backup, and then he said no, so that doesn't make sense. But anyways, it's a fight that I wanted for so long because he's a great athlete. He's a guy that is in the top of the division, and I think that's the kind of challenge that I need and that I want, that is going to make me go for the belt. I don't want easy fights. I don't want the fights that I would just dominate easy, even though I'm dominating all my hard opponents. I think he's the perfect opponent for right now at this moment in my career.”
It’s an intriguing time to be a middleweight, especially with Chimaev dethroning Du Plessis in dominant fashion at UFC 319 to become the new champion. There are a ton of exciting fights to make and upcoming at 185 pounds, including this one with Imavov and Borralho. Just days before these two were set to make the walk inside the Octagon, UFC announced that Reinier de Ridder and Anthony Hernandez are set to headline a card in Vancouver next month.
Coming off the heels of Chimaev’s win, a lot of people thought that this fight between Imavov and Borralho was going to produce the next title contender, and even with the announcement of RDR vs Fluffy, Borralho is confident he’ll get the title shot with a win over Imavov.
“I think they just booked that fight to put some pressure on me and Nas to go here and put on a great performance,” Borralho said. “I think the fight between me and Nassourdine, by itself, is already a great fight and I just need to go there, put on a great performance, a great domination, and I think I'm the next one for the title.”
UPDATE: Farès Ziam OUT Of Fight With Kauê Fernandes
As he prepares to enter enemy territory in Paris, the Brazilian comes into the fight on a 17-fight unbeaten streak, his last loss dating back to 2015 in only his second professional fight. On the other hand, Imavov has started to find his stride at middleweight, racking up four straight wins, most recently stopping former middleweight king Israel Adesanya back in February.
Despite Imavov’s recent wins, Borralho is beaming with confidence from the victories he has picked up along the way.
“I think the biggest threat I can give to him is my versatility and how well-rounded I am, how can I mix it up, all the things I've already showed, like my wrestling, and I'm ready to show my grappling,” Borralho said. “I've already showed my striking in my last two fights with Paul Craig and Cannonier and I think he knows that. I think I can go there and put a lot of pressure on him because he doesn't like to be pressured in the Octagon, and in a five-round fight, I have the courage to do that, so pressure and versatility, that's what I'm going to do.”
And he knows exactly how he wants the fight to go on Saturday night.
READ: Last Time In Paris
“I'm going to finish him in the fourth round. That's how I picture this fight happening. I'm going to push some pressure. I start easy, intelligent and then when I start to pick up my pace, I think he won't take it and my well-rounded game is going to make a difference in this fight. Then, fourth round, I can finish him.”
UFC Fight Night: Imavov vs Borralho took place live from Accor Arena in Paris, France on September 6, 2025. See the final Prelim & Main Card Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC FIGHT PASS!
Tags