Nassourdine Imavov may need punched his option to a title shot.
The Frenchman thrilled the UFC Paris crowd with a stable and regular five-round efficiency to beat fellow prime contender Caio Borralho to make his case to be the subsequent challenger for middleweight champion Khamzat Chimaev. Imavov saved the combat on the toes, stuffing Borralho’s few takedown makes an attempt, and out-struck his Brazilian counterpart en path to a unanimous choice win (50-45, 49-46, 49-46).
In his post-fight interview, Imavov acknowledged in no unsure phrases that he’s now the No. 1 contender at 185 kilos.
“I’m subsequent, Dana.” Imavov mentioned with help from a French translator. “Completely, no hesitation in any way. It’s been 10 years that [Borralho] was unbeaten and I’ve crushed him and I beat him with model as nicely. Positively, I have to be the subsequent one.”
Whereas Imavov did not discover a end over 5 rounds, he undoubtedly impressed as he persistently beat Borralho to the punch and stifled the Preventing Nerds chief’s potent grappling recreation. Early on, Borralho struggled to seek out the vary as Imavov used knowledgeable kickboxing to snipe away and achieve an early benefit on the scorecards.
The motion picked up in Spherical 3 as Borralho survived an early counter proper from Imavov and began to seek out his rhythm within the standup. Borralho landed with extra frequency and certain bought the higher of a cool spherical that included Imavov taking a knee beneath the belt and Borralho getting poked within the eye.
Sadly for Borralho, Imavov settled in from there and was the busier fighter in rounds 4 and 5. Imavov’s finest weapons have been his jab, a step-in elbow, and well timed mixture punches each time it appeared like Borralho was beginning to construct momentum. Regardless of a spirited effort from Borralho, there was little drama when it got here time to learn the judges’ choice.
Imavov (17-4, 1 NC) has now received 5 straight fights, whereas Borralho (17-2, 1 NC) loses for the primary time in eight UFC appearances.
