After Nassourdine Imavov, the next stop for Caio Borralho is a shot at the middleweight division’s top prize.
Riding a 7-0 record inside the Octagon, the Fighting Nerds fan favorite will face his toughest test yet when he meets Imavov at UFC Paris on September 6.
With Imavov sitting as the top-ranked contender in the division, Borralho believes a win over ‘The Sniper’ will earn him an opportunity to face the winner of next month’s 185-pound title clash between reigning champion Dricus Du Plessis and undefeated Chechen monster Khamzat Chimaev.
“I’m 100% sure—everybody knows that’s the number one contender fight! That’s why I wanted this fight for so long,” Borralho told MMA Junkie. “After this fight, it will be undeniable—to everyone, to the fans, to the UFC, to the fighters, to myself, to the team—that I’m the next contender!”
Caio Borralho plans to win his first UFC title alongside teammate Jean Silva
One week after Borralho meets Imavov in The City of Light, his Fighting Nerds teammate, Jean Silva, will face Diego Lopes at Noche UFC in what is shaping up to be a featherweight title eliminator.
If both fighters come out on top in their respective fights, Borralho believes it would present the UFC with a unique opportunity to have both of them compete for a world title on the same night.
“To be honest with you, I think me and Jean Silva are gonna have the belt on the same day,” Borralho said. “That’s what we’re planning. I have a main event on Sept. 6; he has a No.1 contender fight, main event on September 13, one week after. So I think after we both win our fights, we’re gonna go for the belt. I think the UFC knows we can sell, that’s where the money is. I think they’re planning to put both of us to win the belt on the same day. It will be massive.”
