If Nassourdine Imavov vs. Caio Borralho took place anywhere other than Paris, France, the boo birds would have been singing.
Don’t get me wrong, I was impressed by Imavov’s victory. I expected Borralho to win a close fight, but instead the French standout took a clear victory on the strength of his boxing. He was routinely able to land the sharper, more powerful punches for 25 minutes. He shut down all of his opponent’s takedown attempts with relative ease. Objectively, it was a good win, one that
caps off an excellent streak of five victories over Top 10 opponents. By any merit-based metric, Imavov is clearly the next fighter in line for a shot at Khamzat Chimaev’s belt.
Unfortunately for “Sniper,” UFC does not operate on merit. Even with the death of pay-per-view (PPV) and the guaranteed money from Paramount, the promotion operates on optics and spectacle. Khamzat is a superstar and the most popular new champion on the roster, and each of his fights will be as big a show as UFC can manage.
This performance didn’t excite anyone. The French fan base, general Imavov supporters, and fight fans who want UFC to make matches based on their own rankings system still want to see him receive his deserved title shot, but nobody new was likely to be swayed. Imavov didn’t push the action or really lean on his advantages. He was content to win on narrow margins, a handful of punches or couple of big combinations per round. He never hurt Borralho, there were extended periods of staring, and Imavov also landed at least four fouls across 25 minutes.
It was a good win, but not a performance that makes Imavov undeniable. As such, the door is still open for Reinier de Ridder or Anthony Hernandez to swoop in and steal Imavov’s shot, even if their own win streaks would be comparably worse. Worse yet, that matchup feels guaranteed to deliver a level of violence and entertainment that Imavov could not.
There are two possible outcomes to “RDR” vs. “Fluffy.” On one hand, de Ridder could land a bunch of spearing knees that buckle the wrestler and leave his neck open. Conversely, Hernandez might throw the Dutchman on his back and smash him within an inch of his life like he just did to Roman Dolidze. Regardless, a high level of drama feels guaranteed.
Again, I believe Imavov deserves the next 185-pound shot. His win streak is incredible, and the 29-year-old has clearly come into his prime and become a truly elite Middleweight. By failing to really make a statement in Paris after Dana White’s ambiguous title talks, however, it feels likely that Imavov ends up on the bench for a while or forced to fight again before scoring a dance with the champion.
