Robert Whittaker recently shared his thoughts on the Nassourdine Imavov vs. Caio Borralho fight and issued his prediction. While Whittaker stated that both men were on equal grounds in terms of their wrestling prowess, he gave Imavov the edge in technical skills.
Borralho and Imavov will throw down in a middleweight clash at UFC Paris this weekend. The fight could potentially have significant implications for the winner, with a possible title opportunity against the 185-pound champion Khamzat Chimaev next.
Sharing his preview of their showdown in an interview on Submission Radio, Whittaker backed Imavov to outpoint Borralho and said:
"Very curious because both guys are kind of like on the up and up. Both guys are working it out. I think the wrestling and grappling kind of nullify each other, so I think it's going to be a standup fight for five rounds. I do think it's going to go to a decision. Both guys are pretty tough and switched on. But, I think Imavov will be the more technical guy over five rounds, like straightforward. So, I have Imavov probably with the decision win." [H/t: MMA Junkie]
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Watch the full interview below:
While Imavov is coming off a second-round TKO victory over Israel Adesanya at UFC Abu Dhabi in February, Borralho last beat Jared Cannonier at UFC Vegas 96 last August.
Israel Adesanya shares his prediction for the Nassourdine Imavov vs. Caio Borralho fight
Israel Adesanya recently shared his thoughts on the Nassourdine Imavov vs. Caio Borralho fight. Unlike Robert Whittaker, the Nigerian-born Kiwi is backing Borralho to get the job done.
In a YouTube video (via @ChampRDS on X), Adesanya picked the Brazilian to win via unanimous decision and said:
"I'll pick Caio for this fight. It's a well-matched fight, like I said, but it'll be edged out by Caio. They are fighting in France as well. Home court advantage, I don't know how that's going to play with Nassourdine, but I don't think it's going to have an impact on him negatively or positively. I'm going to go with Caio in this fight, and I'm going to go decision."
He continued:
"I think Imavov probably [would be the first one to engage in grappling], because the feet would be too much for him, the hands would be too much for him from Caio. So, he'll have to mix it up to keep Caio guessing. I'm still going to go with Caio, and I think it's going to be a unanimous decision. It'll be a good fight."