NEW YORK – Caio Borralho expected to face a higher-ranked opponent than Yousri Belgaroui in his next outing.
While the matchup initially didn't meet the expectations of Borralho (18-2 MMA, 8-1 UFC), he'll get the opportunity to stay active against a new challenge in Belgaroui (11-3 MMA, 3-0 UFC) at Madison Square Garden in the feature bout at middleweight (Paramount+).
For Borralho, No. 7 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie middleweight rankings, agreeing to take a fight against an unranked opponent initially gave him pause.
"To be honest, in the beginning, I was like, 'It doesn't make sense,'" Borralho told reporters at media day. "Because I was calling Dricus (du Plessis), I was supposed to fight (Joe) Pyfer, and all that. At the end of
the day, when I stopped to think about this fight, I was kind of, 'That's the fight.' There's no one else to fight. I've fought most of the guys in the top 15, I won most of them. There was no fight until January, February, so I wanted to stay active."
Borralho is coming off a unanimous decision win over Reinier de Ridder at UFC 326 in March, a successful bounce-back after his first loss in the promotion to Nassourdine Imaov last September. Despite not having a number next to his name, Belgaroui has turned heads in just three UFC appearances. He's stopped each opponent by strikes, which is something Borralho has been studying closely – although there's more to his game.
"I think he's a very good striker for sure," Borallho said. "Everybody knows that. He has all these titles in kickboxing and all that, so he's a very good striker. He knows how to manage distance. He's very tall, and this is something new (for me), but the thing that I notice on him, that he does very good against wrestlers. He knows how to get up really good, how to fight the hands all the time, how to use the cage in his favor. So, I think he has all these good attributes on his game that I need to figure out on Saturday."
With a win over Belgaroui, Borralho believes he would maintain his position among a shortlist of contenders ready for a shot at the middleweight title. With Sean Strickland's next title defense expected against Nassourdine Imaov, Borralho believes it's important to stay active and be ready for any opportunity to earn the next title shot.
"We have three big names right now to go to the belt," Borralho said. "I don't think Khamzat (Chimaev) deserves right now to go to the belt. I think we have Pyfer, Brendan Allen, and myself. I think the three of us are doing a very good run, we are facing the best guys, and any three of us in the mix. ... After my win on Saturday, we might fight each other and see whoever goes first."
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Caio Borralho lists trio of title-shot-worthy contenders, including himself
