Caio Borralho made weight Friday morning because the back-up fighter for UFC 319 however will possible sit out as each headliners Dricus du Plessis and Khamzat Chimaev got here underneath the 185-pound restrict for Saturday evening’s pay-per-view present in Chicago.
Borralho will maintain “my palms up till I go away the resort for the world”, and from that time on focus solely on his UFC Paris important occasion conflict with Nassourdine Imavov in three weeks’ time. The Preventing Nerds star hopes that profitable in France will result in his long-awaited title shot, and is on the fence with regards to his preferences in a possible conflict with Chimaev or Du Plessis.
“I feel Chimaev will win, and I feel it might be fast, identical to in opposition to [Robert] Whittaker,” Borralho instructed MMA Preventing. “However I don’t know if he’ll retire or not [after UFC 319]. I’ve seen some rumors going round. I would like [to fight] Du Plessis as a result of I’ve been calling him out for a very long time. I’ve all the time talked about his model, that it matches up properly with mine. I wish to struggle him greater than Chimaev, particularly as a result of in a manner Chimaev, and I’ve a connection. I’ve educated with him, we have been shut. We have been nearer up to now, and I like his coach ‘Finfou’. If I have been to favor, I would like to struggle Du Plessis.”
Borralho has to get previous Imavov to maintain his championship hopes alive, and he’s thrilled to enter enemy territory for that. Imavov was born in Dagestan however calls France residence, and gained his previous 4 within the UFC in opposition to Roman Dolidze, Jared Cannonier, Brendan Allen and Israel Adesanya. The Brazilian gained seven in a row within the UFC after a pair of victories at Dana White’s Contender Sequence in 2021, together with two bonus-winning triumphs over Paul Craig and Cannonier in 2024.
“It’s going to style quite a bit higher,” Borralho mentioned of beating Imavov in Paris on Sept. 6. “It’s a part of the technique to make him emotional, pressured. That can make him miss extra, attempt to be overaggressive. I don’t know if he’s actually fascinated with that, however the issues he’s saying, the messages he sends me and issues he says within the media — that it’s going to be a straightforward struggle, that he’ll knock me out with simply… I hope he comes considering that manner, however he have to be mentally ailing if he’s actually considering {that a} man that’s undefeated for 10 years, with 16 wins in a row and 7-0 within the UFC, 9-0 with the Contender, with good floor recreation, good wrestling and good putting [is easy]. If he comes considering it’s going to be a straightforward struggle, I feel he’s mentally ailing.
“I don’t know if he’s simply appearing loopy, however I hope he comes considering that manner. And it’ll positively have a particular style. It’s the primary time I’m going to enemy territory like that to struggle a man. I like the vitality from the gang, in favor or in opposition to me. I feel it’s vitality that offers me energy. The stress shall be all on him. I’m high quality with any end result we could get. I’m all the time like that for any of my fights, any end result that comes. If I’m going there and lose, cool, again to the fitness center to coach arduous as a result of I do know my path, I do know the place I wish to go. And I’m high quality with any consequence. I’ll do my finest to win and symbolize Brazil, to go there and break him.”
If Imavov could also be underestimating him or not, Borralho mentioned he gained’t do such a factor.
“He’s younger, athletic, quick. He’s ranked No. 1 for a motive, proper?” Borralho mentioned. “He deserves to be ranked there — despite the fact that it was an early stoppage with Cannonier, somebody I dominated. And the Adesanya struggle, all people is aware of Adesanya was profitable that struggle and made a fundamental mistake — and that was not [prime] Adesanya. However I don’t underestimate him. I feel his finest weapon is his velocity. He’s very quick, very exact along with his strikes, and I’ve to remain anxious and primarily use my distance management to ensure these strikes don’t catch me abruptly.”
