Nassourdine Imavov is ranked No. 1 in the middleweight division and will defend his top spot on the 185-pound leaderboard when he collides with No. 7-ranked Caio Borralho in the UFC Paris main event this Sat. night (Sept. 6) at Accor Arena. The winner will no doubt be a strong contender for next crack at newly-crowned middleweight champion, Khamzat Chimaev.
That’s because red-hot contenders Anthony Hernandez and Reinier de Ridder, who are scheduled to collide at UFC Vancouver in just a few weeks, are also battling for the right to bash “Borz.” That’s why Imavov plans on making a statement when he faces Borralho this weekend in France.
“No, I’m not disappointed,” Imavov told MMA Fighting about White’s indecision. “I know what I’m worth, and after this fight, I’m going to be the No. 1 contender for the belt, and I know that what I’ve done in the weight class, no one else has done it. Like if you talk about those three contenders, they didn’t do what I did.”
Imavov (16-4, 1 NC) is coming off four straight wins, including his technical knockout finish over former middleweight champion Israel Adesanya at UFC Saudi Arabia. As for Borralho (17-1, 1 NC), he remains unbeaten inside the Octagon after graduating Dana White’s “Contender Series” back in late 2021.
“I’m just different [from] any other guys in the weight class,” Imavov continued. “Right now I’m focusing on this fight, but after this fight, we’re going to concentrate on the [Khamzat] and prepare everything well. [But] I’m just different from anyone in the weight class.”
To see who else is fighting at UFC Paris click here.
