Caio Borralho predicts fourth-round finish to break Nassourdine Imavov’s almost decade-long durability streak

Caio Borralho is planning a fourth-round finish against Nassourdine Imavov

Nobody has managed to get anything other than a decision win over Imavov in nearly a decade, something which Borralho is hoping to change in the UFC Paris main event.

Speaking on the UFC Paris pre-show on ESPN, the Fighting Nerd explained that the fight will not be a boring one, and that he plans to finish Imavov before the fifth and final round.

Borralho said: “I think the only way that Anthony Hernandez and Roinier de Ridder stole my place to be the number one contender is if my fight is boring.

“But I think you guys saw — you guys see all the things that we’re promoting with this fight. I think it has a 1% chance to be boring, you know?

“So, I don’t think that’s going to be the case. And I think it’s gonna be a finish tomorrow. I’m planning to finish him in the fourth round.”

If Borralho does stop Imavov with an upset finish, he will become just the second man in nearly a decade to finish the Russian-Frenchman in the octagon.

Nassourdine Imavov was last stopped in his first professional MMA fight

The only time any other fighter has managed to stop Imavov was all the way back on his debut in fighting.

Nine years ago, Imavov stepped into the octagon for the first time against Ayadi Majdeddine, a Tunisian fighter with an incredible record for submission victories.

The bout at 100% Fight 27 didn’t last past the first round, and the fight in Paris was a big wake-up call for the young MMA star.

He added Imavov to his impressive list of victims, choking him out in the first round with a guillotine and kicking off the Russian-Frenchman’s career with a loss.

That loss clearly motivated Imavov, who has never let another fighter beat him within three or five rounds ever again, although the UFC Paris bout with Borralho could change that.