‘They’re all ducking:’ Caio Borralho erupts on Khamzat Chimaev, Nassourdine Imavov for not accepting fights

Caio Borralho simply desires to combat.

The UFC middleweight division has no scarcity of contenders able to problem champion Dricus du Plessis. Brazil’s Borralho, nevertheless, has instantly discovered himself at a standstill since his largest profession win over Jared Cannonier in August. That victory superior Borralho’s unbeaten streak to 17, with seven of these wins coming contained in the Octagon.

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Borralho hoped his first combat of the 12 months might occur at UFC 317 for Worldwide Battle Week. Ideally, the Brazilian contender focused a top-contender conflict with Nassourdine Imavov, which he claims was supplied by the UFC — just for Imavov to say no.

“I said yes right away,” Borralho informed Uncrowned’s “The Ariel Helwani Show” on Wednesday. “I didn’t even give any time to talk with my team. No way. We were waiting for [Imavov] to respond, and then I heard that he said no, that he doesn’t want to fight, that he wants to wait for the belt, that I need to fight a top-five guy first. But he’s a top-five guy. It doesn’t make sense what he’s saying. I just think that he knows that’s the hardest fight for him in the division, and he doesn’t want to take the risk.”

The UFC middleweight title image is at present unsure, with rumblings of a possible harm to du Plessis. Borralho mentioned he is heard via the grapevine the South African champion might be coping with a damaged shin and may not be prepared till October. The doable hold-up has led to some social-media interactions between Borralho and the anticipated subsequent title challenger, Khamzat Chimaev.

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Borralho, 32, noticed the chance to name for a combat with Chimaev within the absence of any motion on the prime of the division. He is but to listen to any responses, however the Preventing Nerds frontman hopes to compete sooner moderately than later.

“I’m just lost, bro, to be honest with you,” Borralho mentioned. “Everybody’s ducking. I’m not the one to come here and say everybody’s running from me and they are afraid of me and all that, but all of them know it’s a hard fight for them. They’re all ducking. Robert Whittaker ducked. Imavov ducked. All these guys. I just don’t know what I have to do to fight again.

“This combat in opposition to Khamzat, I noticed the chance after I heard that Dricus was injured, and I mentioned, ‘That is my shot. I must go there and present that I am prepared, that I am prepared to face anybody, does not matter who, and I requested the UFC for this.’ We’re nonetheless ready for them. We’re nonetheless ready for Khamzat’s response. I believe he is simply combating me if it is for the belt. If it isn’t for the belt, he does not need to combat me. So we’re nonetheless ready for what is going on on.”

Borralho has stayed busy in the UFC thus far in his career, competing two to three times per year. But at this rate, 2025 could prove to be a far less active year.

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Sitting at No. 6 in the official UFC rankings, Borralho expects to challenge someone ranked above him for his next time out. Chimaev arguably makes more sense than Imavov, with the latter sitting at No. 1 and Chimaev perched at No. 3. Ultimately, Borralho said, he’s getting so eager to compete that he’ll even accept a fight out of the rankings if he has to.

“This factor is s***, bro,” Borralho said of the UFC rankings. “Michael Chandler misplaced 4 in a row — he is No. 12 nonetheless. There’s Paulo Costa. He did not combat for like two years already. He misplaced 4 of his final 5 fights. He is nonetheless within the rankings. That is loopy.

“These rankings are s***, bro. So I’m out. I don’t care about rankings. Give me a ranked guy. Give me an up-and-coming contender. Give me anyone, brother. I don’t f***ing care because this ranking doesn’t mean s***. I’m willing to fight. You can see how desperate I am to fight, right? That’s what I want. I just want to fight because I’m a fighter.”