After losing the middleweight championship and failing to regain it, Nigerian-born Kiwi superstar Israel Adesanya will be back next for a non-title bout against Nassourdine Imavov. Being one of the biggest headliners of the UFC, ‘The Last Stylebender’ will find himself in a non-title fight for the first time since April 2019, when he lands in Saudi Arabia in February 2025. However, it appears that Imavov could have been replaced by another opponent for Adesanya’s comeback.

Following Caio Borralho‘s win over former title contender Jared Cannonier, Borralho wasted no time as he called out Israel Adesanya after racking up a 7-fight winning streak. He claims the fight against the former 2-time champion is ‘inevitable’, and believes that Dana White might have offered that fight to ‘Izzy’, who chose to fight Nassourdine Imavov instead. Hence, Adesanya’s decision stung Borralho a bit, who even had a small chat with the Kiwi star and got promised a title fight in 2025.

“I think the UFC offered Izzy two fights, me or Imavov. And then, he suddenly posted a clip studying Imavov’s tape, and I was like, ‘Come on, bro,'” Caio Borralho stated on the ‘Overdogs Podcast’. “I sent a message to Izzy, and was like, ‘Bro, why you choosing that?’ He was like, ‘Bro, we’re gonna fight next year. We’re gonna dance next year for the belt.’ [Borralho responded] ‘It’s okay, I respect you if you choose that. I think he chose right.'”

The Brazilian ace didn’t seem upset with Israel Adesanya‘s decision, and that’s all because he believes it’s the right choice for the former and only 2-time middleweight champion in UFC history.

Caio Borralho puts his money on Israel Adesanya against Nassourdine Imavov

‘The Natural’ believes that coming back to fight Nassourdine Imavov is the best option for Israel Adesanya because this fight is his for the taking. Through his assessment of both fights, Caio Borralho concluded that the gas tank will come into play since it’s a 5-rounder, and that is where he claims Imavov could struggle against the sleek Adesanya, dubbing the former 2-time champion as the favorite.

The early odds for the main event of UFC Saudi Arabia show that ‘Izzy’ is just a moderate -185 favorite while Nassourdine Imavov has been listed as the underdog, with his odds at +154. Clearly, Caio Borralho is siding with the oddsmakers on this one. “I think Imavov is a better fight for him and I think Izzy is the favorite in this fight. Imavov, I think he’s good and all that but I don’t think he has the cardio for five rounds,” the Brazilian star added.

Israel Adesanya is currently 35 years old and has a few more years in his belt to follow in the footsteps of former heavyweight champion Randy Couture and become a three-time champion of his own division. If that happens, there might be little to no doubt as to who the best middleweight in UFC history is. Adesanya might even consider Caio Borralho as the guy to butt heads for the first title defense of his third reign. Who knows? He promised him, after all.

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