Caio Borralho has put himself firmly in the UFC middleweight plans after his convincing decision victory over Jared Cannonier, and it looks like that’ll lead to a big fight next time out.
“[UFC Chief Business Officer Hunter Campbell] was super happy [with my performance],” Borralho told mmafighting.com. “He said, ‘In the top 5 of this sport, you can’t be a guy that quits, that throws caution to the wind and fights reckless, and you showed that today. You showed quality and heart, and we’ll see what we have for you. I don’t know if it’s going to be Dricus, but I’ll find a fun fight for you, and then you’ll go for the belt.’
“I’m anxious to see which fun fight is that.”
And if the UFC haven’t made up there minds on who that is yet then Borralho has some big-name suggestions.
“I hope it’s Adesanya — respectfully, I’m planting that seed little by little. There’s also Jiri Prochazka cutting down [to middleweight], but I don’t know if it interests me as much as a fight with Adesanya, for example.”
And of course Borralho is also ready, willing and able to fight for the title against Dricus du Plessis next too, though he thinks the chances of that happening depend on circumstances outwith his control.
“This is the third time I call him out,” Borralho said of DDP. “Last time I called him out he went on Twitter and said something like, ‘Win two more and we’ll talk.’ I think this is my third or fourth win since then. He has already beaten Strickland, [Israel] Adesanya and [Robert] Whittaker, and the other guys ranked ahead of me have fights booked now.
“I knew maybe I wouldn’t go straight for Dricus, but it would make more noise. And I’m sure that if Strickland gets hurt, my name will be in the conversation for a short notice after this callout. He has already beaten the others. If [Robert] Whittaker beats [Khamzat] Chimaev, [the UFC] will probably call me instead of him.”
So the seven-fight unbeaten Borralho will have to wait to see what unfolds, but it’s clear he hopes to get some kind of an answer sooner rather than later.
“For now all I want is to rest and take some time off. I fought three months ago and again now, so my body needs a quick break, but I’m anxious to see what the UFC has in mind.”
