Nassourdine Imavov sees no incentive to fight Caio Borralho.
Borralho (17-1 MMA, 7-0 UFC) went off on Imavov (16-4 MMA, 8-2 UFC) for allegedly turning down a UFC fight offer against him. Imavov, who’s coming off a TKO of ex-champion Israel Adesanya on Feb. 1, revealed why he’s not interested in the Borralho fight.
“He’ll get KO’d. He’ll sleep,” Imavov said of Borralho (h/t Championship Rounds). “Then they’re going to say, ‘It’s normal, he was ranked No. 1 you see.’ That’s their way of managing their careers. Falling forwards, you get it. It’s better to fall forwards than backwards.
“He comes against the No. 1, gets his ass kicked. Then they’ll say, ‘Well, that’s normal. He’ll recover and come back stronger.’ So, wait your turn. Little by little, you have to be patient in life. People aren’t patient. The key is patience.”
Imavov is currently the No. 1 ranked UFC middleweight after recent wins over Jared Cannonier, Brendan Allen, and Adesanya. Meanwhile, Borralho is ranked at No. 6 after a five-round main event over Cannonier this past August. With rumors of UFC middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis being injured for his projected title defense against Khamzat Chimaev, Borralho has thrown his name in the hat to compete for the title.
Borralho also responded to Imavov’s comments.
