Nassourdine Imavov has responded to comments from Caio Borralho about the home fighter ‘ducking’ him before UFC Paris.
The middleweight main event between Imavov and Borralho tops a return to France for the UFC, as the next number one contender to face Khamzat Chimaev becomes clearer.
While there is still a middleweight firecracker in Canada to come, this fight is giving fans their first idea of who will be next in line for a shot at the Chechen.
Chimaev was crowned the division’s new champion following a dominant performance against Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 319.
Nassourdine Imavov responds to Caio Borralho for ‘ducking’ comments ahead of UFC Paris
Their fight went on without a hitch, but in case of any issues with the fighters, Borralho was installed as the UFC 319 backup opponent.
It was seen as a strange decision, given he would have to make weight twice in three weeks.
The Brazilian claimed that his rival for the weekend, alongside Robert Whittaker, has ‘ducked’ fights with him in the past.
Now, ‘The Sniper’ has responded to those claims during an interview with MMA Fighting during fight week for their main event clash.
Imavov said: “You don’t want to be naive. You don’t want to trust liars. He’s been lying many times before. I didn’t even know him before he started to call me out. I wasn’t watching his fight.
“For me, it was just a fan following me on Instagram. I don’t need that kind of fan. I mean, if you want to stop following me on social media, it’s going to be good for me. No need for that.”
The 30-year-old has been on a great four-fight run since a loss to Sean Strickland in 2023, as he now holds wins over Israel Adesanya and Jared Cannonier.
Asked for his prediction in the fight, the favourite was looking to end the contest quickly.
“Without a doubt I’m going to finish him and I’m always going to be looking for the finish,” he said.
Caio Borralho picks Nassourdine Imavov’s one key attribute in their UFC Paris clash
Even with the back and forth during media duties, Borralho does have respect for his foe and believes he is a tough fight.
Speaking to the Pound 4 Pound podcast, the fighter picked out a key attribute of the Frenchman that he will need to handle in order to beat him.
He said: “I think his biggest attribute is that he’s really fast. He doesn’t show a lot when he’s going to do the move. He just explodes.
“So I will need to be aware of that. So it’s all going to be about pace and positioning myself in a good way… If I’m in a good position, I’m going to see him explode even if he’s fast.”
Four of Nassourdine’s wins have come by stoppage in his UFC career, whereas Caio has won only one by knockout.
The ‘Fighting Nerd’ hopes to overcome a year of inactivity from the Octagon to beat his French foe and chase his much sought-after title shot against the middleweight champion.