Borralho eyes 'massive' fight vs. Adesanya
UFC middleweight contender Caio Borralho called for a title shot after his recent win over Jared Cannonier, but he has another name in mind if that doesn't come to fruition.
Borralho said Tuesday he wants to face former champion Israel Adesanya should the promotion go in a different direction with current champ Dricus Du Plessis' next title defense. Borralho defeated Cannonier by unanimous decision Saturday in Las Vegas, just one week after Du Plessis submitted Adesanya to retain the belt. Borralho's victory put him in the top five of the 185-pound rankings.
"The only one other than Dricus right now that I could fight is Israel Adesanya," Borralho said on SiriusXM's "MMA Today" show. "I think it's a great matchup, I think it's a great fight.
"All the respect to Israel. I think he was a great champion. He was a guy that was dominating this sport for a long time. I think definitely he needs to fight a little bit backward in the rankings, and I need to fight above me in the rankings, so I think it's the perfect matchup if they don't give me Dricus."
Before Du Plessis' fourth-round stoppage win over Adesanya at UFC 305 on Aug. 17, UFC CEO Dana White named Sean Strickland the No. 1 contender in the division. However, the UFC has yet to finalize a rematch between Du Plessis and Strickland, and the winner of the UFC 308 bout between Robert Whittaker and Khamzat Chimaev on Oct. 26 will also have a strong case for the next title shot.
Borralho said UFC executive Hunter Campbell told him after the Cannonier fight that the promotion wanted him to fight once more before a title shot. Campbell also said he had a "fun" matchup in mind for him, Borralho said, and the Brazilian speculated it could be former light heavyweight champion Jiri Prochazka, who has talked about dropping down to middleweight.
But Borralho is locked in on the idea of squaring off with Adesanya, whom many consider the second-greatest middleweight in UFC history.
"The fight that makes sense is Israel Adesanya," Borralho said. "I think it's gonna be a fun fight. It can be a massive fight."