With a win over Caio Borralho, Nassourdine Imavov believes he’ll be the next man in line for a middleweight title shot.
In February, Imavov shocked the world with a stunning second-round knockout of former two-time titleholder Israel Adesanya. The victory launched him to the top of the 185-pound rankings, but if he wants to cash in on his first UFC title opportunity, he’ll have to get past the Fighting Nerds co-founder.
Imavov and Borralho will headline UFC Paris when the promotion heads back to The City of Light on September 6.
“I’ve beaten four top-10s in less than a year—a fifth is coming,” Imavov told MMA Junkie of his upcoming clash with Borralho. “Do you imagine after I beat Caio, anyone deserves a title shot more than me?”
According to Imavov, the UFC has already confirmed that with a win over Borralho, he’ll face the winner of this month’s middleweight title tilt between reigning champion Dricus du Plessis and undefeated Chechen monster Khamzat Chimaev.
“What the UFC said is that I’m next in line for the belt,” Imavov added.
Nassourdine Imavov and Caio Borralho both vying for title shot at UFC Paris
Imavov is 8-2 inside the Octagon and heads to the French capital riding a wave of momentum following a quartet of wins over Roman Dolidze, Jared Cannonier, Brendan Allen, and the aforementioned ‘Last Stylebender.
Meanwhile, Borralho goes into the biggest fight of his career with a spotless 7-0 record under the UFC banner. That string of victories was good enough to get ‘The Natural’ to No. 6 in the rankings, but a win over Imavov will likely push him to the top of the list and put him in pole position for a shot a the middleweight crown.
