No Fight For Gold Yet, as Backup Nassourdine Imavov Vs. Caio Borralho Headlines UFC Paris Next

The UFC Paris event in September will be headlined by No.1-ranked Nassourdine Imavov vs. surging 185-pounder Caio Borralho.

No Fight For Gold Yet, as Backup Nassourdine Imavov Vs. Caio Borralho Headlines UFC Paris Next

Nassourdine Imavov vs. Caio Borralho headlines UFC Paris middleweight fight night headliner in September (Source: X)

UFC 319: “Du Plessis vs. Chimaev” is confirmed as a PPV title booking where the UFC 185-pound title will be up for grabs again. The title fight has an August 16th date, United Center in Chicago, Illinois. French UFC middleweight Nassourdine Imavov, a PPV title backup not long ago, has other assignments, though. Imavov now headlines an UFC Paris Fight Night for the first time, and meets Caio Borralho for it.

UFC Paris takes form this time on September 6th, at Accor Arena in Paris, promotion officials announced this Monday. The #10-ranked ultra-utilitarian lightweight and bona fide star Renato Moicano shone in the previous Paris offering (UFC Fight Night 243). “Money” Moicano caused a bloody second-round doctor stoppage TKO of berserker Benoit Saint-Denis.

Now Nassourdine Imavov has his first Paris headliner spot to shine; Team Kill Cliff FC’s “Sniper” was initially to serve as a title fight buffer if top seed Khamzat Chimaev had another withdrawal or camp illness. Reigning UFC middleweight king Dricus Du Plessis was even acclimating to the fact that it might just happen and he’d fight No.1-ranked backup fighter Imavov.

Imavov earned his top spot with a heavy-handed KO of former champ Israel Adesanya at UFC Saudi Arabia. With DDP momentarily swaying towards “Borz” and a finalized date in Chicago, Imavov turned attention to Caio Borralho, who has been calling him out for a while. Borralho even marked his work ethic for ‘ducking’ out of a UFC 317 IFW Festivity spot matchup.

Now, the Frenchman has abandoned his UFC title backup role for a grudge fight and got it for UFC Paris. A while back, though, the 30-year-old explained why he did not prefer a Borralho match next, instead of the top shot.

UFC’s Nassourdine Imavov explained disinterest in Caio Borralho fight

UFC Paris star Borralho, undefeated in UFC (7-0), was last in active competition in a FOTN award five-round headliner win over Jared Cannonier at UFC on ESPN 62. Brazil’s Fighting Nerd product is a proper breakout story for the last season, and he wanted to expand his skill ceiling until he reached proper top contender status.

Nassourdine Imavov wasn't previously interested in a Caio Borralho matchup
Nassourdine Imavov wasn’t previously interested in a Caio Borralho matchup (Source: X)

With rumors of injuries going on, Caio Borralho even offered up his name for an interim title matchup vs. Chimaev, whom he has studied for a while. He thus ripped into Imavov for turning away from a 185-pound title eliminator before UFC 319.

Fresh off a TKO of ex-champion Izzy, Nassourdine Imavov did not find it super appealing to lock horns with No.6-ranked middleweight Borralho. He even explained why:

He’ll get KO’d. He’ll sleep, …Then they’re going to say, ‘It’s normal, he was ranked No. 1 you see.’ That’s their way of managing their careers — 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.

Nassourdine Imavov said (H/T: @ChampRDS on X)

The buck did not stop there as Borralho chose to snap back at the comments. With fresh reports of DDP being injured, he felt reinforced for an interim challenge. Now, he gets his likely UFC 185-pound title eliminator (most possibly) in Paris, which he has always wanted.

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