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Sean Strickland slams ‘idiot’ Caio Borralho for making major mistake ahead of the biggest fight of his life

Originally posted on Bloody Elbow | By Jordan Ellis | Last updated Sep 7, 2025 10:35 AM ET

Sean Strickland believes Caio Borralho only has himself to blame for losing at UFC Paris.

Nassourdine Imavov outpointed the streaking middleweight contender over five rounds on Saturday night.

The defeat snaps Caio Borralho‘s 16-fight win streak, which had put him on the cusp of a 185lb title shot.

Sean Strickland thinks he knows what cost his ‘buddy’ a chance at the belt, which he won with a famous upset win over Israel Adesanya at UFC 293 in September 2023.

Photo by Darrian Traynor/Getty Images

Sean Strickland calls out ‘idiot’ Caio Borralho

Last month, Caio Borralho weighed in as backup for the UFC 319 main event between Dricus du Plessis and Khamzat Chimaev.

Sean Strickland insists that the weight cut cost him dearly when he came up against Nassourdine Imavov, who turned down the backup gig to focus on his upcoming fight.

“Caio is my buddy, but he’s an idiot,” Strickland tweeted after UFC Paris.

“He trained with us and was useless. Me ‘What’s wrong with you?’ Caio, ‘I’m cutting, I’m an alternate’.

“So you’re giving up 4 weeks of your camp, cutting weight twice while having a fight coming up?

“Whoever told you to do that, please hit him.”

Strickland added: “It was so frustrating, I wanted to hit him..

“I didn’t say anything because I wanted to keep his spirits up, but he really took some bad advice from someone. That fight wasn’t him. It was missing 4 weeks of training, cutting weight twice.”

Caio is my buddy but hes an idiot. He trained with us and was useless.

Me "whats wrong with you"
Caio "Im cutting, im an alternate"

So you're giving up 4 weeks of your camp cutting weight twice while having a fight coming up?

Whoever told you to do that, please hit him
— Sean Strickland (@SStricklandMMA) September 7, 2025

Joe Rogan backs Sean Strickland’s title bid

Sean Strickland hasn’t fought since being battered by Dricus du Plessis at UFC 312 in February.

Almost everyone believes he will have to work his way back into title contention after falling short in two fights against ‘DDP’.

However, now that Du Plessis has been dethroned, Joe Rogan has made a surprise pitch for Khamzat Chimaev’s first title defense.

“Well, who else then? Who’s getting Khamzat next? It really depends what (Reinier De Ridder vs Anthony Hernandez) looks like, right, because this was a f—— war,” Rogan said during a Fight Companion episode of his podcast.

“Interesting, who is the big star behind these guys, behind Imavov… Who’s the big star other than him? (

“(Sean Strickland) is the biggest star, for sure. I wonder if he can get right back in there like that. Does he go right back into a title shot, or does he have to fight somebody?”

Strickland is currently serving a six-month MMA ban for his role in a viral post-fight brawl at a Tuff-N-Uff event in June. At the time of writing, he will be eligible to compete again on December 29, 2025.

The suspension could be reduced to 4.5 months if Strickland completes an anger management program.

This article first appeared on Bloody Elbow and was syndicated with permission.

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