Winner Gets a Title Shot? You Tell Me
The start of September is reserved for one of the more exciting UFC Fight Nights in recent memory. Dana White is a master of his trade, and he has proven that once again. As if the middleweight division wasn’t as packed as before, we now have a fight that could create a future champion, Nassourdine Imavov vs. Caio Borralho. That’s not all, as we will also witness Mauricio Ruffy going against Benoit Saint Denis. The main and co main bouts are good enough to feature at any UFC event, and the fans are gearing up for this one with all of their might.
The stage is already set for the UFC Fight Night, and it is Paris, France. The city of light is an ideal stage for Borralho and Imavov, and Accor Arena is going to be packed on September 6th, there’s no doubt in our minds. One could say that it is rare for Europe, and especially France, to get this prestigious fight, so that’s a reason more to enjoy this UFC event. Before we move to the things we learned during Caio Borralho UFC Fight Night Interview, let’s say a thing or two about the main and co main events and the fighters featured at UFC Fight Night.
Nassourdine Imavov
What makes Imavov vs. Borralho so interesting is the fact that both fighters are rising stars in their own right. Imavov is the current No2 ranked middleweight fighter in the UFC. He has risen to the top after a well recorded 4 win streak. His streak is not an ordinary one, as he took down Jared Cannonier, Brendan Allen and Israel Adesanya in the process. At UFC Imavov has an 8 record, and after a shaky start to his career with the promotion he’s now hitting the ground running. A 16-4 MMA record speaks for itself, but what’s even more impressive is his 44% percentage of wins attained via KO/TKO. 4 of his KOs have come in the UFC and it is rather impressive knowing that one of the guys who fell under his fists is the former champ and one of the biggest UFC stars in recent memories, Israel Adesanya. Back in February, and that was his last bout, he was quick to knock down Adesanya in the early stage of the bout, got himself a performance of the night bonus, and put his name in the title contention the best way to become a No1 contender, and this Fight Night is all about that, is to defeat a former champ, and Imavov already did that this year.
Caio Borralho
Just like Imavov, Caio is one of those fighters on an upward trajectory. Since moving to UFC he knows only about winning. Since 2022, he’s been in 7 bouts and won all 7 of those. At the moment, he is the No7 ranked fighter in the middleweight division, but we all know that he’s better than that, and that the upcoming Fight Night is a chance to prove that once again and improve his rankings. Being undefeated in the UFC promotion, and standing on an 117-1 MMA record is quite a resume. Having defeated the likes of Michal Oleksiejczuk and Paul Craig, the fight vs. Imavov is one of the biggest tests for Borralho so far. The Natural, as he is nicknamed, is a part of the now famous Fighting Nerds team, and what makes him so appealing to the fans of MMA is that his personality is one of a kind both inside and out of the octagon. If you take a look at the Picks for UFC Fight Night Imavov vs Borralho, you will notice that Borralho is the one being favoured to win this bout. With performance bonuses tied to his last two bouts, it is more than evident that not only The Natural is dominant in the cage, but he also puts on a show and that’s what everyone is expecting at the UFC Fight Night Paris.
Benoît Saint Denis
While the centre stage is reserved for Imavov vs. Borralho, don’t be fooled that Benoit Saint Denis won’t have fans flocking to see him fight in Paris. Unlike Imavov and Caio, BSD has had an up and down start to his UFC career. The beginning was impressive as he had a streak of five wins. After his loss to Dustin Poirier, he had a weak performance and a loss vs. Renato Moicana, before getting back on track vs. Kyle Prepolec in what was one of the nicest submission wins. With a 6-3 UFC record, and overall 14-3 MMA record, and being ranked 13th for the lightweight division. The Good of War is geared up to win his next match and to create a storyline in which he is a title contender.
Mauricio Ruffy
Just like Caio Borralho, Ruffy is a member of the Fighting Nerds gym, and he is also seen as one of the biggest upcoming talents in the UFC. Mauricio is getting to be known as an KO master by the UFC fan base, as two of his three UFC bouts have ended with a KO and earned him performance bonuses. If you haven’t been paying attention, Ruffy has taken down King Green with a spinning kick in what’s seen as one of the more impressive KOs in recent UFC memory if not of all time. The most interesting part about Maurício Ruffy is that he is currently unranked in the UFC, despite having an impressive 12-1 MMA record, which holds an unbelievable 11 wins via knockout. If he snatches a win here, we are sure he will enter the rankings and start climbing the fence. If that happens, we are sure an Stake partnership UFC awaits him just like it was there for Caio Borralho.
Nassourdine Imavov vs. Caio Borralho Picks & Predictions
As we said, the better ranked fighter is Imavov sitting at No2 place in the middleweight division. Yet, he is entering the Fight Night bout as an underdog. If you take a look at the latest MMA odds at Stake.com you will see that a win on Imavov pays with 2.17 odds, while a win on The Natural comes at 1.70 price. The resumes of these two fighters speak for themselves. Imavov has had a shaky start to his UFC career losing to the former champion Sean Strickland, and Phil Hawes. He managed to turn his fortunes around, and is now on one of the better 4-win streaks in the UFC. Another win would make him an middleweight title contention without a doubt, especially if it comes against the fighter such as Caio Borralho. With the striking power Imavov has, we can’t be too sure that he can’t win this one, if one of his precise strikes lands where intended.
Winning at Paris Fight Night won’t be an easy task for the French fighter, as against him he has a similarly impressive fighter in Caio Borralho. The Brazilian fighter has an undefeated record in the UFC and he intends to leave it once the September 6th Paris fight is over. Many people close to the promotion see him as the future champion, and so far he has proven to have all the tools to make it. He is as good of a striker as Imavov is, with a better skill in terms of grappling, and that could make all the difference in the upcoming fight. If this match goes on after the first two rounds, the grappling of The Natural could be the game changer, and the skill that will extend his undefeated UFC streak.
As far the odds go, as we said, they favour the Brazilian fighter, and we are on the same page. While Imavov was good in all of his 4 previous fights, and looked better and better in each of them, we can’t see him going past The Natural. Our prediction is a Caio Borralho win in one of the first two rounds via KO/TKO. The Natural is more than excited to fight Imavov and headlining an UFC event in the process, and this is what he had to say about what is coming.
Thoughts on The Biggest Career Fight & Headlining an UFC Event
For Borralho, in his own words, this is the biggest fight of his career. He is more than aware that after 7 bouts, and 7 wins, this is the one to put him into the title contention, and he has no doubts about that. Caio said: “It’s time to go for the number 1 contender fight .” For Caio, he and Nassourdine are entering this bout from different directions. The Natural claims that he’s been eager to fight the French, while The Sniper, in his opinion, was avoiding their duel. Now that it is on, Borralho had this to say: ” I don’t care if it’s in France or anywhere else in the world, I’m just so excited to showcase my work. I’m very excited, very happy, all of my family and my team will be there and I’m excited to showcase my skills.”
Belonging to Main Events
UFC Fight Night in Paris will be the second consecutive event for Caio Borralho; he will be headlining. While some would feel the pressure, The Natural feels as if he belongs to those types of events under the spotlight. He said that he 100% feels that he belongs at the top, and that he knew as much from the start of his career. Talking about his early UFC days, Borralho said the following: ” I was the co main event in my first fight, I’ve always been the guy with the most interviews on the card, and I think that this is the spot that I deserve.”
Main Contender Talks From UFC-Official or Not?
Fans of the UFC, and especially those close to the Brazilian fighter claim that this is the bout that will make the winner an instant middleweight title contender. Borralho made things clear here by saying that no one guaranteed with 100% certainty that that’s going to be the case. Caio knows that there’s also a fight between Anthony “Fluffy” Hernandez and Reinier “RDR” De Ridder, who he believes also has two contenders in it. For Caio, the UFC idea for these bookings is clear: ” I think they wanted to put some pressure on us to deliver some great fights.” Caio continued by saying that the next contender is probably the one who wins, but in an amazing way. For Borralho, he would hate it to be a title contender No1 after a boring win over Imavov while Fluffy or RDR win while delivering a performance. He also thinks that UFC sees things that way, and that the best winner gets a title shot.
UFC Rio & Charles Oliveira
The biggest story in Brazil is not Imavov vs. Borralho, but the fact that Charles Oliveira is going to headline the UFC Fight Night in Rio, only a few weeks after his knockout loss to Ilia Topuria. Both fans and pundits believe that Oliveira is rushing his return. Caio also believes that it might be too soon, but adds: ” I think it’s a little bit of everything. Brave, dangerous, and a lot of money involved!” Yet, he believes that Charles has enough experience to know what he’s doing. If he manages to train properly before the bout, he will be fine, concludes Borralho. The one thing that Caio is sure of is that the fans in Brazil are going to love that their compatriot is headlining the event, and that he’s going to be in attendance.
During his Stake Interview, Borralho covered plenty of subjects touching on the Chimaev vs. DDP fight, Alex Pereira and UFC 320, Carlos Prates, middleweight division, and overall state of the UFC. While all of those were exciting subjects, what we’re all looking for the most is the September 6th Paris UFC Fight Night and Imavov vs. Borralho. The game is on, and a title contender is going to be born in Paris. Chimaev better get ready.
