Morning Report | Caio Borralho has no issue fighting 'friend' Khamzat Chimaev: 'It's business' |
05/09/2025 14:00 -
Caio Borralho has no issues fighting Khamzat Chimaev despite their friendship.
This weekend, Borralho takes on Nassourdine Imavov in the main event of UFC Paris, in a bout with serious middleweight title implications. That could present a problem for Borralho, as the Fighting Nerds fighter is friends with Chimaev, having trained with him in Sweden previously. But if he gets the call to challenge Chimaev, Borralho says that won't be an issue.
"It's business," Borralho said on the Pound-4-Pound podcast. "It's for feeding our families. He's my friend. We talk about it, we speak, we chat in Instagram and all that. When I had my child, he was one of the first guys to come to me and congratulate me and all that. We kind of got into each other.
"And actually, I was the only one in his training camp that became friends with him, because I knew how to train with him. I knew how to help him and I made him realize that. So he knew I was there to help him, not just to compete against him and try to show that I'm better than him or something like that. There's no ego in me. There's no problem for me to go there, if I'm helping the guy, to get my ass beat for five rounds. I don't care, because I'm there to help him.
"But at the same time, I'm seeing everything, I'm studying everything, I'm taking notes. I'm paying attention to everything, and this is something that I did a lot in Sweden."
Borralho is undefeated since joining the UFC in 2022, with seven consecutive wins in the promotion. Most recently he won a unanimous decision over Jared Cannonier last year to put himself in this position. Imavov, likewise, is on a great run in the promotion, having won four in a row, most recently knocking out former two-time champion Israel Adesanya in February.
Though this weekend's bout is not officially a No. 1 contender bout, UFC CEO Dana White has declared that the next challenger for Chimaev's newly won middleweight title will be either the winner of this fight, or the winner of the upcoming Reinier de Ridder vs. Anthony Hernandez bout, depending on who impresses more. And Borralho believes he's set up to do just that and earn his shot at his friend.
"I will make this fight not as competitive as you think, just as I did with all my fights," Borralho said. "I've had some beasts to face, and I dominated them all. There was not a competitive fight. Jared Cannonier was a little bit more competitive, but I will make this fight not as competitive as you think."
UFC Paris takes place this Saturday Accor Arena.
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FIGHT ANNOUNCEMENTS
Baisangur Susurkaev (10-0) vs. Eric McConico (10-3-1); UFC 322, Nov. 15.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Darn good slate of fights this weekend. Imavov vs. Borralho is about as good as it gets at 185, and Mauricio Ruffy vs. Benoit Saint Denis is guaranteed violence. Plus there are a few other great and important fights at UFC Paris, and the rest should (mostly) be quite fun. Can't wait.
Have a good weekend and see y'all on Monday.
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