Latest news with #Imavov
USA Today
2 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Reinier de Ridder ready to step in for Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 319 if necessary
ABU DHABI – Reinier de Ridder plans on keeping a busy schedule if things fall into place for him. De Ridder (20-2 MMA, 3-0 UFC) takes on former UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker (26-8 MMA, 17-6 UFC) in the UFC on ABC 9 main event July 26 at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. De Ridder hopes to outbid the winner of Nassourdine Imavov vs. Caio Borralho in the UFC Paris headliner on Sept. 6. "I'm leaning towards Imavov in that one just because he's so complete, so relaxed in there," De Ridder told MMA Junkie. "He seems to be very much in control, but hopefully it's just a boring fight, and nobody wants to watch, nothing happens. That will be ideal." The former two-division ONE champion has finished all three of his UFC opponents and knows he'll likely need one more definitive performance to cement his spot as No. 1 contender. "Hopefully if I can do well, it all depends on how the fight goes," De Ridder said. "Like a win is not enough. I need to finish him. I need to finish him early, hopefully spectacularly, and as I said, we all hope Imavov and Borralho is boring, goes five rounds, nothing happens. That would be perfect, or maybe Khamzat pulls out last minute and they give me a call. We'll see." Khamzat Chimaev (14-0 MMA, 8-0 UFC) challenges middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis (23-2 MMA, 9-0 UFC) in the UFC 319 main event on Aug. 16 from United Center in Chicago. Entering his fifth fight in less than a year, De Ridder wants to keep the ball rolling and will be ready to fill in for Chimaev if he withdraws – but would rather not weigh in as a backup. "I'll be ready to fight again, or as I said, I might be ready to step in last minute if necessary," De Ridder said. "So, we'll see what happens. Weighing in is the hardest part, so hopefully not weighing in at all. We'll see."
USA Today
07-07-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Caio Borralho: 'Emotional' Nassourdine Imavov doesn't like getting punched, I will KO him
Caio Borralho doesn't think Nassourdine Imavov can handle his pressure. Borralho (17-1 MMA, 7-0 UFC) takes on Imavov (16-4 MMA, 8-2 UFC) in a pivotal middleweight clash, which headlines the UFC Fight Night event on Sept. 6 from Accor Arena in Paris, France. Borralho is convinced that Imavov only does well when he's the hammer, not the nail. "I'm going to pressure this guy, he's going to get tired, and I'm going to knock him out," Borralho told Submission Radio. "That's what I'm going to do. He's going to be too emotional in this fight, and I'm going to knock him out with his own emotions. I'm going to be honest with you, this is a fight where I'm going to get punched in the face. He's going to get punched in the face, but everybody already saw who is comfortable in this position of getting punched in the face, and it's not him. "He doesn't like to get punched. Even in training, I heard a lot about him. I've been training with guys who already trained with him. He gets mad when he gets touched in his face, and that's exactly what's going to happen in the fight. I'm going to touch him a lot, I'm going to pressure him, I'm going to defend his speed and then in the right time, I'm going to knock him out." Borralho also downplayed Imavov's resume, which includes a win over common opponent Jared Cannonier, and most recently a knockout of former champion Israel Adesanya at UFC Fight Night 250 in February. "You beat old Izzy, you had an early stoppage with Cannonier that you were losing the fight, you almost didn't beat Brendan Allen," Borralho said of Imavov. "He did an awful fight where he got tired with Brendan Allen, and I've been dominating all my opponents. "Cannonier, Paul Craig, Abus (Magomedov), Michal (Oleksiejczuk), and all these guys. I've been dominating all of them. I think the only competitive fight that I had was against Cannonier, but I still dominated this fight. So, I'm the guy who's supposed to be going into this run for the belt because I'm undefeated in the UFC."
Yahoo
29-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
'This is not AI': Nassourdine Imavov rips UFC opponent Caio Borralho with creative video
Nassourdine Imavov isn't much of a trash talker, but it appears he's had enough of Caio Borralho. Borralho (17-1 MMA, 7-0 UFC) has spent months calling out Imavov (16-4 MMA, 8-2 UFC) but was dismissed by the French fighter, who had his sights set on a title shot. Borralho even went as far as saying Dagestan would be ashamed of Imavov. Advertisement Imavov was initially set to be the backup fighter for the middleweight title fight between champion Dricus Du Plessis and Khamzat Chimaev in the UFC 319 headliner on Aug. 16. However, he has opted to stay busy in the meantime and is now booked to face Borralho in the UFC Paris main event on Sept. 6 from Accor Arena. Borralho got his wish, but Imavov wasted no time in firing back at the Brazilian's constant jabs – and he even got creative with it. Check out the video below. Imavov is coming off a signature knockout win over former champion Israel Adesanya at UFC Fight Night 250. He is on a four-fight winning streak. This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: UFC's Nassourdine Imavov rips Caio Borralho with creative video
USA Today
24-06-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
'This is not AI': Nassourdine Imavov rips UFC opponent Caio Borralho with creative video
Nassourdine Imavov isn't much of a trash talker, but it appears he's had enough of Caio Borralho. Borralho (17-1 MMA, 7-0 UFC) has spent months calling out Imavov (16-4 MMA, 8-2 UFC) but was dismissed by the French fighter, who had his sights set on a title shot. Borralho even went as far as saying Dagestan would be ashamed of Imavov. Imavov was initially set to be the backup fighter for the middleweight title fight between champion Dricus Du Plessis and Khamzat Chimaev in the UFC 319 headliner on Aug. 16. However, he has opted to stay busy in the meantime and is now booked to face Borralho in the UFC Paris main event on Sept. 6 from Accor Arena. Borralho got his wish, but Imavov wasted no time in firing back at the Brazilian's constant jabs – and he even got creative with it. Check out the video below. Imavov is coming off a signature knockout win over former champion Israel Adesanya at UFC Fight Night 250. He is on a four-fight winning streak.
USA Today
23-06-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Nassourdine Imavov vs. Caio Borralho headlines UFC Paris in September
Middleweight Madness in our #UFCParis main event 🔥🇫🇷 @Imavov1 vs @BorralhoCaio 🇧🇷 Nassourdine Imavov will headline UFC Paris for the first time. Imavov (16-4 MMA, 8-2 UFC) takes on Caio Borralho (17-1 MMA, 7-0 UFC) in the Sept. 6 main event at Accor Arena in Paris, promotion officials announced Monday. Imavov initially intended on serving as the official backup for the middleweight title fight between champion Dricus Du Plessis and Khamzat Chimaev Aug. 19 in the UFC 319 main event from Chicago. However, he has now opted to take another fight against Borralho, who has been calling him out for a while. Imavov is coming off his biggest win to date, a knockout of former champion Israel Adesanya at UFC Fight Night 250. Borralho hasn't competed since a Fight of the Night main event win over Jared Cannonier at UFC on ESPN 62 last August. The 32-year-old Brazilian is unbeaten in his past 17 fights.
