After falling short at UFC Paris, what’s next for Caio Borralho?

This past Saturday in the main event of UFC Paris, we saw a pivotal matchup in the middleweight division that potentially had title implications. Top contender Nassourdine Imavov (17-4) took on surging top contender Caio Borralho (17-2).

Entering the bout, a lot of people including myself were high on Borralho. I picked Borralho to win the fight and he was the betting favorite. Borralho has a very good karate style with his striking but he also has a very good ability to mix in his grappling and submissions.

I figured his well-rounded approach would really carry him in this matchup. However, it became evident early on that he would struggle with the speed of Imavov. In addition, it just seemed that Borralho was a little flat at UFC Paris. It felt like he never quite moved into his highest gear and that really cost him.

Entering the fifth round, his corner knew that he would have to get a finish and he just couldn’t make it happen. When the scorecards were read, it was a lopsided decision for Nassourdine Imavov.

What’s next after UFC Paris?

I saw Caio Borralho a few weeks ago at UFC 318 when he weighed in as the backup fighter for the title fight between Dricus Du Plessis and Khamzat Chimaev. Borralho seemed very upbeat and made the weight with ease telling us in the media that he would see us in a few weeks.

However, looking back on it, I do wonder if that impacted his performance. Sean Strickland is friends with and has trained with Borralho. He posted on X that he was incredibly frustrated by the advice that Borralho was given in terms of taking that backup opportunity.

Borralho took time off from his training that was focusing on Imavov for the backup opportunity and he cut down to 185 pounds. It impacted his training schedule and Strickland is convinced that it impacted his performance. Honestly, it did look like it on Saturday.

In terms of what’s next for Borralho, there are a couple of options. One option is former champion Dricus Du Plessis who will be looking to bounce back after his title loss to Khamzat Chimaev. Former middleweight champion Israel Adesanya could also be someone the UFC looks at next for Borralho.

Next month, Anthony Hernandez and Reinier De Ridder headline UFC Vancouver. It’ll be either the winner of that fight or Imavov who will get the next shot at Chimaev. With that, I wouldn’t rule out the loser as the next opponent for Borralho either.