Caio Borralho impressed the whole wide world with his latest performance against Jared Cannonier, winning their bout via a unanimous decision, at the main event for UFC Vegas 96. This win ensured that ‘The Natural’ jumped to the 5th position in the UFC middleweight rankings. Needless to say, the Brazilian mixed martial artist is just a couple of fights away from an opportunity at the UFC middleweight championship title. 

But before ‘The Natural’ took aim at Dricus Du Plessis, he has set his sights on the man who had previously reigned the UFC MW division twice. Borralho has indeed expressed his desire to compete against Israel Adesanya before fighting for the title!

Caio Borralho plans on fighting Israel Adesanya before a title shot

Israel Adesanya was left in utter disappointment at UFC 305. While the majority of the MMA world believed ‘The Last Stylebender’ to become the middleweight champion for the third time, Du Plessis crushed all of those dreams as he took Adesanya down with a powerful right hook and then executed a successful rear naked choke in the 4th round of their bout. But this defeat didn’t mean that the Nigerian-born fighter lost his skills. 

The Brazilian fighter believed that it was all because of a lack of focus. He said, “Maybe [Adesanya’s] not the same focused guy he was before, but he’s still the same guy with the same technique, skill and dominance…” Now that Boralho has found his way to the top 5 in the UFC middleweight rankings, talks about him getting a title shot aren’t too far away.

But before fighting for the title, ‘The Natural’ has seemingly fixed his crosshairs on the former 2-time middleweight champion. He continued, “I think Adesanya might be the best fight for me right now. If I had to choose one more before the title, I think it would be Adesanya and then the title.”

Borralho’s decision to fight Adesanya received support from his peers, as well. Talking to Submission Radio, Robert Whittaker affirmed that Adesanya needed to fight someone like Borralho to retain his position in the rankings. And as expected, the Brazilian jumped at the opportunity right away.

But weighing in on the fight against Cannonier, Borralho declared that he wasn’t happy with the outcome. After UFC Vegas 96, Borralho lashed out at referee Dan Miragliotta for a wrong decision. Let’s see what the Brazilian had to say.

‘The Natural’ bashed the referee for not stopping the fight against Jared Cannonier

At the post-fight press conference for UFC Vegas 96, Borralho severely criticized the referee for not stopping the fight earlier. No doubt Cannonier is one of the most formidable fighters in the middleweight division. But with multiple kicks to the calf, Borralho was sure that Cannonier was in immense pain. However, the referee chose not to stop the bout.

Borralho said, “Jared is a very dangerous opponent. I think the fight went well, my jab was on point. My calf kicks were on point. I just did the job. I almost got the finish, I think the referee should have stopped the fight because Jared was very [badly hurt]. It is what it is, I’m very thankful to be there for 25 minutes with one of the best in the world. Tell me one guy that did that to Jared, tell me.”

Borralho was pretty impressed with his performance against Cannonier. Owing to this, the MW #5 put forth a demand to have a meeting with the UFC head honcho, Dana White. Now, with his eyes on ‘The Last Styelebender’, Borralho’s aspirations to become a champion are much closer than it seems. And it would be the fight for Adesanya to redeem himself.

The Brazilian is one of the only two fights in the middleweight top 5 that would be a fresh fight for Adesanya. Nassourdine Imavov is fighting soon and Adesanya has fought everyone else already. If he can get a win over Borralho before the end of the year, he could perhaps make a case for a title shot sometime next year. As for Borralho, ‘Stylebender’ is definitely a slingshot that could launch him into the title scene.

Do you think Adesanya will accept Borralho’s challenge and take the fight to the Octagon? Let us know what you think in the comments down below.