Nassourdine Imavov, Caio Borralho, and Khamzat Chimaev are the three top contenders waiting to pounce for the middleweight belt. But who will Dana White choose? “People aren’t patient. The key is patience,” said Nassourdine Imavov as per Championship Rounds, taking a jibe at Borralho. But what if ‘The Sniper’ is forced to abide by this instead? This is what Daniel Cormier seems to fear.

Imavov has proved himself against the best of the best in the UFC middleweight division. He might have lost two back-to-back fights in 2023, but he redeemed himself pretty quickly and is now standing on a 4-fight winning streak against starfighters like Brendan Allen and Israel Adesanya. Naturally, he should be next in line for the title bout, right?  The best-case scenario for the #1 middleweight star is to ideally clash against Dricus Du Plessis for a title bout or Khamzat Chimaev in a high-profile fight. But does the best-case scenario always happen in life?  Well, in the UFC, it all depends on the head honcho, Dana White.

If Imavov does not get the chance for the title fight this time, he has to clash against another top contender, and his wait becomes longer. Now he can fight Caio Borralho, who is in the title race, and the latter has called out the Russian star as well. So what’s the hold-up? Well, Imavov does not want to fight Borralho and opened up about the same in a recent vlog. This hesitation could be his undoing, especially when he’s considered to be one of the fighters who pose a significant threat to the Chechen star.

The middleweight division is in flux as Du Plessis is rumored to be injured ahead of his probable title defense against Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 317.  What does ex-UFC champ Daniel Cormier think of the situation’s impact on Imavov’s title prospects? Well, he is a bit apprehensive.

In a recent YouTube video, he made a case for ‘The Sniper’ and said, “If I am Imavov, I am saying listen, I want to be involved. This trifecta becomes a foursome because I need to be involved; I don’t care what you’re doing; whatever you’re doing needs to involve me because I have earned that. When Brendan Allen was riding hot, I beat him. You told me to fight ‘Izzy’, I beat him. I have earned my chance to fight one of the best, and granted, an interim title fight does not seem as exciting when you input Imavov over maybe Borralho, but just a big fight, not for an interim title as I’m saying it should be.”

He further added that the middleweight star deserves a title shot and said, “Imavov deserves to be there, man. Let’s call a spade a spade. He deserves to be there, and I hope that they don’t forget about this dude. Because this dude has earned his opportunity to fight in that level of competition with those level of guys.”

‘DC’ is right. If Imavov does not insert himself into this equation, the title scene will leave him behind. Whoever fights Chimaev at UFC 317 will fight for the title if he beats him, and vice versa. Imavov could be left fighting the loser of this clash. Or worst yet, the winner of UFC 317 could go on to dethrone Du Plessis, which could lead to an instant rematch for the South African, further delaying Imavov’s shot. The only way this situation works in his favor is if he’s the one fighting (and beating) Chimaev at UFC 317. And this is Dana White’s dilemma, too. How do they make sure the fan favorite fighter (either Chimaev or Du Plessis) comes out on top from this mess? And, what about Borralho vs. Chimaev, the fight that could ruin it all for the Frenchman?

Interestingly, the duo have trained together before, but Borralho offered to fight Chimaev in a potential interim title fight as per his posts on X. “I know a guy,” Borralho wrote, adding, “[UFC] you know who to call. Interim?” Naturally, ‘Borz’ did not remain silent and posted a picture from their spar, reminding the Brazilian of their training sessions. Meanwhile, Borralho is stressed about the different news he recently got about DDP’s injury.

Caio Borralho gives intel on Dricus Du Plessis

Borralho is not sure about the nature of the injury, but it’s pretty “serious,” according to him, and he said that it was something related to Du Plessis’s legs. “I also heard from another source a little closer to Dricus’ camp that it was an injury that seemed to be a little serious, like a broken shin. I don’t know. Something like that,” the Brazilian star recently revealed while giving an interview with ‘Ag. Fight’.

‘The Natural’ also mentioned that Du Plessis might have to heal for a longer time and could be out for over half a year, which might compel Dana White to introduce an interim title for a fight between him and Khamzat Chimaev. The latter, however, dismissed the champion’s injury rumours and decided to spice things up. Unlucky for him, Dricus was not about to let anyone add insult to his rumored injury.

The middleweight champion retaliated on social media, responding to Chimaev’s tweet that read “This guy biggest bull–it.” The champion posted pictures of their fight schedules from the last few years, which showed no fight cancellations for Du Plessis and multiple ones and a weight miss for Chimaev. Du Plessis wrote, “Let’s take a look at the last +-2.5years and tell me who’s bull–it.”

But Dricus Du Plessis did not respond to the injury rumors yet, so everything is speculation as of now. What will Dana White decide? Will he consider Imavov for the title fight? What do you think?