Latest news with #Borralho
Yahoo
24-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Time To Panic? DDP Rumored To Face Six Month Sit
UFC Middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis may be on the sidelines for the foreseeable future. That's according to top-ranked contender, Caio Borralho, who is angling for an interim title shot versus Khamzat Chimaev in Du Plessis' absence. 'DDP' vs. Khamzat was largely expected to be one of the most high-profile bookings of 2025's 'International Fight Week' event UFC 317, but a Du Plessis' injury would seem to throw a wrench into those plans. Advertisement Immediately, Du Plessis and Khamzat traded online barbs over the withdrawal. Borralho, meanwhile, has been consistent in calling for an opportunity to face 'Borz' himself, and the Chechen standout is open to the match up. Borralho wants to fight for interim gold, and per the surging Brazilian, Du Plessis is going to be benched long enough to justify another 185-pound strap. 'I also heard from another source a little closer to Dricus' camp that it was an injury that seems to be a little serious, like a broken shin. I don't know. Something like that,' Borralho told Ag. Fight (via Essentially Sports). He continued, 'He'll be out for about six months, and that would make it easier for the UFC to put [the interim title on the line]. So, I'm waiting for that. This fight will only happen if it's for the interim belt.' At the time of this article, Du Plessis has still refused to publicly confirm or deny his alleged injury, let alone offer specifics on the recovery process. If Du Plessis is ready to go or only facing a short time off the mats, an interim title would be rather disrespectful. The South African is an active champion, having defended his title opposite Sean Strickland just two months ago at UFC 312. Advertisement If we are looking at a more long term issue, Chimaev vs. Borralho would be a damn good replacement fight. 'Borz' has been widely hyped for years now and has been an absolute terror in his short Middleweight career, whereas Borralho is undefeated (7-0) inside the Octagon and riding the massive momentum wave of The Fighting Nerds. Expect some clarifications from the champion and promotion in the coming days. More from
Yahoo
23-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
'They're all ducking': Caio Borralho erupts on Khamzat Chimaev, Nassourdine Imavov for not accepting fights
Caio Borralho just wants to fight. The UFC middleweight division has no shortage of contenders ready to challenge the champion, Dricus du Plessis. Brazil's Borralho, however, has suddenly found himself at a standstill since his biggest career win over Jared Cannonier this past August. That victory advanced Borralho's unbeaten streak to 17 straight bouts, with seven of those wins coming inside the Octagon. Advertisement Borralho hoped his first fight of the year could happen at UFC 317 for International Fight Week. Ideally, the Brazilian contender targeted a top-contender clash with Nassourdine Imavov, which he claims was offered by the UFC — only for Imavov to decline. "I said yes right away," Borralho told Uncrowned's "The Ariel Helwani Show" on Wednesday. "I didn't even give any time to talk with my team. No way. We were waiting for [Imavov] to respond, and then I heard that he said no, that he doesn't want to fight, that he wants to wait for the belt, that I need to fight a top-five guy first. But he's a top-five guy. It doesn't make sense what he's saying. I just think that he knows that's the hardest fight for him in the division, and he doesn't want to take the risk." The UFC middleweight title picture is currently uncertain, with rumblings of a potential injury to du Plessis. Borralho said he's heard through the grapevine that the South African champion could be dealing with a broken shin and might not be ready until October. The possible hold-up has led to some social media interactions between Borralho and the expected next title challenger, Khamzat Chimaev. Advertisement Borralho, 32, saw the opportunity to call for a fight with Chimaev in the absence of any action at the top of the division. He's yet to hear any responses, but the Fighting Nerds frontman hopes to compete sooner rather than later. "I'm just lost, bro, to be honest with you," Borralho said. "Everybody's ducking. I'm not the one to come here and say everybody's running from me and they are afraid of me and all that, but all of them know it's a hard fight for them. They're all ducking. Robert Whittaker ducked. Imavov ducked. All these guys. I just don't know what I have to do to fight again. "This fight against Khamzat, I saw the opportunity when I heard that Dricus was injured, and I said, 'This is my shot. I need to go there and show that I'm ready, that I'm willing to face anyone, doesn't matter who, and I asked the UFC for this.' We're still waiting for them. We're still waiting for Khamzat's response. I think he's just fighting me if it's for the belt. If it's not for the belt, he doesn't want to fight me. So we're still waiting for what's going on." Borralho has stayed busy in the UFC thus far in his career, competing two to three times per year. But at this rate, 2025 could prove to be a far less active year. Advertisement Sitting at No. 6 in the official UFC rankings, Borralho expects to challenge someone ranked above him for his next time out. Chimaev arguably makes more sense than Imavov, with the latter sitting at No. 1 and Chimaev perched at No. 3. Ultimately, Borralho said, he's getting so eager to compete that he'll even accept a fight out of the rankings if he has to. "This thing is s***, bro," Borralho said of the UFC rankings. "Michael Chandler lost four in a row — he's No. 12 still. There's Paulo Costa. He didn't fight for like two years already. He lost four of his last five fights. He's still in the rankings. This is crazy. "These rankings are s***, bro. So I'm out. I don't care about rankings. Give me a ranked guy. Give me an up-and-coming contender. Give me anyone, brother. I don't f***ing care because this ranking doesn't mean s***. I'm willing to fight. You can see how desperate I am to fight, right? That's what I want. I just want to fight because I'm a fighter."
USA Today
23-04-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Caio Borralho predicts late finish or 'domination' of Khamzat Chimaev in possible UFC bout
Caio Borralho predicts late finish or 'domination' of Khamzat Chimaev in possible UFC bout Khamzat said yes! The only thing that makes sense is the Interim belt! This fight is gonna be bigger than him vs Dricus! Marks my words — Caio Borralho (@BorralhoCaio) April 20, 2025 Caio Borralho is confident he could outlast Khamzat Chimaev in a potential UFC fight. With UFC middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis rumored to be sidelined due to injury, Borralho called out No. 1 contender Chimaev, who has entertained the idea by going back-and-forth with the Brazilian on social media. If the fight was to materialize, Borralho (17-1 MMA, 7-0 UFC) thinks he can weather an early storm, drag Chimaev (14-0 MMA, 8-0 UFC) to the later rounds, and possibly finish him. "I think the critical point is the first round," Borralho told Submission Radio. "I think that's the round that I need to not make a mistake at all. The first round is the dangerous one, and it's the critical point. After this round, I'm not saying that he is going to go down in his performance or anything like that, but that's when I'm going up in my performance. "I think I can still, in the second round, defend some takedowns – even get taken down and get back up and all that – don't give my back or anything like that that he likes, and then after that start hitting him with some body shots, with some jabs that I'm doing very good with, some calf kicks and all that. And then after that, the fight is getting better and better for me. Maybe a knockout in the fourth round or fifth, or maybe a good decision and domination in the last three rounds." Chimaev posted a picture of him carrying Borralho in training, as well as one in which he's choking him out. Borralho admits he got "beat up" in their sessions, but explains that he was there to help him and serve as a good training partner by going through the motions. 😳Khamzat Chimaev shares a photo of him submitting Caio Borralho 📸 @KChimaev ▫️ — Home of Fight (@Home_of_Fight) April 21, 2025 "That was far from a sparring session," Borralho said. "That was a video of him drilling positions that Allan Finfou was coming to him. Actually, that video is from 'Embedded' so we were filming for the UFC. We were doing drilling – he was taking the back, doing a rear-naked choke. Look at that: I didn't even defend the takedown. It was a drilling session."
USA Today
22-04-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
UFC's Nassourdine Imavov explains why he's not interested in Caio Borralho fight
UFC's Nassourdine Imavov explains why he's not interested in Caio Borralho fight Nassourdine Imavov sees no incentive to fight Caio Borralho. Borralho (17-1 MMA, 7-0 UFC) went off on Imavov (16-4 MMA, 8-2 UFC) for allegedly turning down a UFC fight offer against him. Imavov, who's coming off a TKO of ex-champion Israel Adesanya on Feb. 1, revealed why he's not interested in the Borralho fight. "He'll get KO'd. He'll sleep," Imavov said of Borralho (h/t Championship Rounds). "Then they're going to say, 'It's normal, he was ranked No. 1 you see.' That's their way of managing their careers. Falling forwards, you get it. It's better to fall forwards than backwards. "He comes against the No. 1, gets his ass kicked. Then they'll say, 'Well, that's normal. He'll recover and come back stronger.' So, wait your turn. Little by little, you have to be patient in life. People aren't patient. The key is patience." Imavov is currently the No. 1 ranked UFC middleweight after recent wins over Jared Cannonier, Brendan Allen, and Adesanya. Meanwhile, Borralho is ranked at No. 6 after a five-round main event over Cannonier this past August. With rumors of UFC middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis being injured for his projected title defense against Khamzat Chimaev, Borralho has thrown his name in the hat to compete for the title. Borralho also responded to Imavov's comments.
USA Today
11-04-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Caio Borralho claims 'f*cking p*ssy' Nassourdine Imavov turned down UFC fight: 'Dagestan is ashamed of you'
According to Caio Borralho, Nassourdine Imavov rejected to fight him. Both Borralho (17-1 MMA, 7-0 UFC) and Imavov (16-4 MMA, 8-2 UFC) sit atop of the middleweight division as they vie for a title shot. Borralho previously called out Imavov, and revealed that the UFC tried to match them up, but Imavov was not interested. Borralho went off on Imavov, downplaying his recent finishes over Jared Cannonier, and former champion Israel Adesanya in the UFC Fight Night 250 headliner. Borralho's most recent win came in a five-round main event over Cannonier this past August. 'I just heard the news that they offered us a fight. I said yes right away, and he came and said no,' Imavov told Full Send MMA. 'Then the UFC came to him and said, 'If you say no, you're not the next in line. Caio's going to be ahead of you.' Then he said, 'OK, I agree with that.' So I don't know what this guy is thinking. 'People are saying, 'Oh, he finished Cannonier.' It was an early (stoppage). He was losing the fight. After that, 'Oh, he finished Adesanya.' OK, it was a great job, but he was getting beaten up by a guy who was on three straight losses. Even if it's Adesanya, it's three straight losses. He's not in the best moment of his career, so nothing to be proud of.' Borralho stepped it up a notch by going after Imavov's origins. 'I heard this guy is kind of a Dagestani. I think the Dagestani people are ashamed of him,' Borralho said. 'I heard that the Dagestani guys like to fight. They fight in the street. They live a rough life. But this guy is a f*cking p*ssy. He's not Dagestani. Dagestan is ashamed of you, have shame on you. That's what they have.'
