UFC middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis sees Caio Borralho upsetting Nassourdine Imavov.
Imavov (16-4 MMA, 8-2 UFC) meets Borralho (17-1 MMA, 7-0 UFC) in the UFC Fight Night 258 main event on Sept. 6 from Accor Arena in Paris. Borralho will weigh in as the official backup for Du Plessis’ title defense against Khamzat Chimaev in Saturday’s UFC 319 (pay-per-view, ESPN, ESPN+) headliner at United Center in Chicago.
Du Plessis (23-2 MMA, 9-0 UFC) admits the winner of Imavov vs. Borralho doesn’t get him too excited.
“Imavov has put in some work and Caio Borralho I rate him, I think he’s a really good fighter,” Du Plessis told CBS Sports. “I do think Caio Borralho beats Imavov, in my opinion. I think he’s more all-around. Neither one of those fights really get me excited right now. I’m fighting Khamzat Chimaev (Saturday). That’s the only thing that gets me excited right now.”
Also in the running is Anthony Hernandez (15-2 MMA, 9-2 UFC), who said the UFC is flying him to Chicago after he submitted Roman Dolidze in Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 72 headliner. Reinier de Ridder (21-2 MMA, 4-0 UFC) emerged as a top contender when he outlasted Robert Whittaker in the UFC on ABC 9 headliner last month, but Du Plessis would like to see more.
“I like Reinier on a personal level,” Du Plessis said. “I’ve trained with him and he was in the organization that I fought in here in South Africa. He is a good guy. He is a good fighter. There’s similarities. People think, ‘Oh, he’s never going to do this. Oh, he looks terrible.’ He’s been proving everybody wrong, and he’s doing everything he said he was going to do, so (I’m) impressed with that. I think he has a ways to go still. Robert Whittaker, beating him right now doesn’t earn you that title shot.”
