Israel Adesanya and Caio Borralho almost met in the octagon. The Nigerian's next fight will be in the main event of UFC Saudi Arabia against Nassourdine Imavov . The event will be on February 1st. But before the match, the Brazilian's name was considered. On YouTube, Adesanya recounted the behind-the-scenes details of the negotiation.
“The UFC just offered me [Imavov] and I was like, ‘Yeah, sure.’ That was the only name that was offered, but Caio was also looking for a fight. If the UFC offered him, that would have been cool. But he showed up when I posted or announced the fight. I was like, ‘Man, I told you when it’s me versus you it’s going to be for the belt, it’s going to be for the throne,’” Adesanya revealed on his channel.
Borralho is 6th in the middleweight ranking. Photo: Reproduction/Instagram
The former middleweight champion (up to 83,9kg) made it clear that a fight with Borralho is not a UFC priority. The Brazilian expressed, on the SUPER LUTAS podcast 'It's Time' , a huge interest in facing Israel. Without resorting to trash talking on any occasion, he earned Adesanya's respect.
“I respect a guy who just wants to be strictly professional. I call it the Goku spirit. It’s like, ‘Can you fight? How good are you? Okay, let’s bet and see.’ I respect that, but the Imavov fight happened,” he said.
Johnny Walker opens up about his heavyweight debut at UFC 332.
You need to log in to comment.