Caio Borralho is happy that Khamzat Chimaev is finally a UFC champion.

‘Borz’ scored a dominant unanimous decision victory over Dricus Du Plessis in August to capture the undisputed middleweight world title. Now, the undefeated Chechen monster has a massive target on his back, with everyone in the division chomping at the bit to test themself against the 15-0 fighter.

Thus far, nobody has emerged as a clear-cut title contender, though that could change this Saturday when Borralho steps into the main event spotlight for a clash with Nassourdine Imavov.

Looking ahead to a potential clash with Chimaev, Borralho welcomed the challenge and even offered a few kind words to the newly minted middleweight king.

“I’m happy that he’s the champion now because if people are saying that he’s like unbeatable, imagine how good he’ll be when someone beats him,” Borralho told MMA Junkie. “And if that guy is me, you know. So definitely a good place to be right now. Feel very happy for him as a champion.

“I think he deserved that. He worked very hard for that… I’ve been part of his training camp and all that. Very happy for the guy, but I’m willing to go there, do the business and face him.”

Caio Borralho gunning for Imavov’s No. 1 ranking at UFC Paris

Borralho goes into his UFC Paris headliner riding a nine-fight win streak, including highlight-reel finishes against Michał Oleksiejczuk and Paul Craig. The Fighting Nerds co-founder landed a big win over Jared Cannonier in his most recent outing, moving him into the No. 7 spot in the rankings.

With a win over Imavov, he’ll likely overtake the top spot and put himself in pole position for a middleweight title opportunity.

Craig Pekios

Craig Pekios is a freelance writer born and raised in Bettendorf, IA. Joining LowKick MMA in May 2022, Craig has more than 4,000 articles published that focus on the world of MMA and boxing, including news, event previews, results, analysis, and op-eds.