Two months after his unanimous decision win over Jared Cannonier, 17-1 fan favorite and #5 ranked middleweight contender Caio Borralho has found himself out in Abu Dhabi as he takes in the sights ahead of UFC 308.
Amid rumors that he could be set to weigh in as the backup fighter for the UFC 308 co-main event this coming weekend, Caio ‘The Natural’ Borralho has now revealed what the plan is for his next fight.
Caio Borralho teases huge fight with Israel Adesanya is in the works for 2025
Speaking with MMA Junkie, Borralho confirmed that he’s already in negotiations with the promotion regarding his next fight, teasing that he could be set to face former middleweight champion Israel Adesanya on the recently announced UFC 312 card in Australia.
“I want to fight Adesanya, I want to fight Izzy, and we are in talks with UFC – nothing [has been] confirmed yet, but that’s the fight we want, [and] I think that’s the fight that makes sense.
“Adesanya has fought all the guys from [the] top five – it’s just me and [Nassourdine] Imavov who he didn’t fight, but Imavov didn’t [have] a good fight last time [against Brendan Allen], so I think they’re thinking about me… Let’s see what the UFC wants.”
The promotion recently announced its return to Australia, with UFC 312 set to go down in early February at the Qudos Bank Arena in Syndey.
“I’ll be ready, and I’ll be trying to get on this [UFC 312] card,” stated Borralho, before noting that even though he holds Adesanya in the highest of regards, he’ll be hunting the finish ‘Down Under’.
“A lot of respect for Izzy, you know. I want to fight the best in the world, and I think he’s a legend, one of the best in the world – I want to test myself against him… I don’t know if he’s vulnerable or anything like that, I don’t have anything [against him] with it.
“If we fought, I’m going in with a hundred percent power, I’m going with a hundred percent trying to finish him, and I will do it.”
Should that fabulous matchup be put together, there’ll be calls for the UFC to make it a five-round fight; luckily, Borralho believes he has the gas tank to compete over the distance with ‘Stylebender’.
“Yeah, I definitely want it to be five rounds; and not just me, I think the fans need this fight to be five rounds. He’s a guy who’s always fighting for a belt, so he’s used to five rounds and you saw my cardio against Cannonier – the best fight to make is me vs Izzy, five-rounds [in] Australia.”
Caio Borralho weighs in, not literally, on Whittaker vs Chimaev at UFC 308
With the #5 ranked middleweight out in Abu Dhabi, it’s no surprise that fans have theorized that Borralho will be weighing in on Friday as the backup fighter for the UFC 308 co-main event bout between Robert Whittaker and Khamzat Chimaev.
However, the confident Brazilian has confirmed that he’s purely in attendance as a spectator and that after enjoying the local cuisine, he’s unlikely to be able to make 185lbs either way.
“No, no – I’m not weighing in at 185lbs anytime soon,” said Borralho, laughing as he noted: “If a 205lb fight drops out then maybe but I’m still too high in the weight.”
Borralho is good friends with Khamzat Chimaev and is predicting that the undefeated phenom will get the jump on ‘The Reaper’ this weekend – especially after making some major changes to his training camp and health routine.
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“I think it’s going to have a very good effect on his performance, he used to train a lot and now he’s doing more resting [and] eating the right food to help recover the body. I think he’s healthy and Khamzat’s a machine – I think he’s going to do very good against Whittaker.
“I don’t think that Whittaker’s got anywhere near [the level] of Khamzat’s wrestling to prepare for this fight, so I think Khamzat has the advantage, and I hope he wins.”
UFC 308 goes down live from Abu Dhabi on October 26.
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