Izzy Respects Caio's Big Dragon Balls
Yesterday at 09:00 AM
Adesanya is looking forward to facing rising middleweight contender Borralho in the future ... possibly for the 185 pound belt, even.
Israel Adesanya may be fighting Nassourdine Imavov in Saudi Arabia this February, but he's got his eye on rising contender Caio Borralho as well.
Borralho is 16-1 MMA and 7-0 in the UFC and most recently dismantled Jared Cannonier to bring his middleweight ranking up to No. 6. He's also a part of the surging Fighting Nerds team, and has a lot of hype behind him. Imavov's resume is less flashy, but he is one rank higher than Borralho and a Muslim fighter, always a plus when UFC goes to Saudi Arabia.
In a recent video on his YouTube channel, Adesanya discussed the Imavov booking and if there was talk of fighting Borralho instead.
"No, [Imavov] was the only name that I got offered," Izzy said. "But Caio [Borralho], he was looking for a fight as well. And yeah, if they offered him, I would have been like, 'Yeah, sweet!'"
"He responded when I announced the [Imavov] fight. And I was like, 'Bro, I already told you when it's you and me, it'll be for the belt, it'll be for the throne.'"
"I respect a guy who just wants to be strictly business," Adesanya said of Borralho's vibe. "It's like, I understand that. What do I call it? Goku spirit. It's like, 'Oh, you fight? How good are you? I bet. Let's see.' Yeah, I respect that. But the Imavov fight came about and now we're here."
For an anime nerd like Izzy to compare Caio to Dragon Ball's Goku is a pretty big compliment. We could end up seeing Adesanya vs. Borralho later in 2025, but don't expect "The Last Stylebender" to keep fighting at the pace he was when he held the belt. His return on February 1st will mark roughly five months since his mid-August loss to Dricus Du Plessis.
"I think moving forward, this is the pace I like," he said of the booking timeline. "When you make your debut and hit the UFC, you wanna stay active. So I did that. When you're a champ, you wanna stay active. I did that. So now it's time to move different."
Adesanya has said before that he's no longer focused on belts and just wants to improve as a martial artist. That mindset seems to have re-invigorated him in the gym.
"Why am I still fighting? Because I can, and I'm really, really, really good at it," he said. "I almost forgot how great I was. But then recently, I just realized ... 'F—k. I'm good at this s—t. I forget, because reasons, but yeah, it's good to remind yourself. I keep saying y'all must have forgot. F—k, I forgot!"
Israel Adesanya will get a chance to remind himself and the world how good he is in the Octagon when he faces Nassourdine Imavov on February 1st in Saudi Arabia.
