Nassourdine Imavov might have punched his way to a title shot.
The Frenchman thrilled the UFC Paris crowd with a solid and steady five-round performance to beat fellow top contender Caio Borralho to make his case to be the next challenger for middleweight champion Khamzat Chimaev. Imavov kept the fight on the feet, stuffing Borralho’s few takedown attempts, and out-struck his Brazilian counterpart en route to a unanimous decision win (50-45, 49-46, 49-46).
In his post-fight interview, Imavov stated
in no uncertain terms that he is now the No. 1 contender at 185 pounds.
“I am next, Dana.” Imavov said with assistance from a French translator. “Absolutely, no hesitation whatsoever. It’s been 10 years that [Borralho] was unbeaten and I’ve beaten him and I beat him with style as well. Definitely, I need to be the next one.”
While Imavov failed to find a finish over five rounds, he undoubtedly impressed as he consistently beat Borralho to the punch and stifled the Fighting Nerds leader’s potent grappling game. Early on, Borralho struggled to find the range as Imavov used expert kickboxing to snipe away and gain an early advantage on the scorecards.
The action picked up in Round 3 as Borralho survived an early counter right from Imavov and started to find his rhythm in the standup. Borralho landed with more frequency and likely got the better of a funky round that included Imavov taking a knee below the belt and Borralho getting poked in the eye.
Unfortunately for Borralho, Imavov settled in from there and was the busier fighter in rounds 4 and 5. Imavov’s best weapons were his jab, a step-in elbow, and timely combination punches whenever it seemed like Borralho was starting to build momentum. Despite a spirited effort from Borralho, there was little drama when it came time to read the judges’ decision.
Imavov (17-4, 1 NC) has now won five straight fights, while Borralho (17-2, 1 NC) loses for the first time in eight UFC appearances.
