Caio Borralho believes Israel Adesanya must fight him: “It makes sense for him, and for me"
Caio Borralho finds himself in the middleweight division's top five rankings after a stellar performance against Jared Cannonier at UFC Vegas 96. The Brazilian proved himself to be a bonafide title contender and believes that his next fight should come against former champion Israel Adesanya.
Adesanya most recently suffered a submission defeat, the first of his career, when he faced the king of the middleweight division, Dricus du Plessis. The pair headlined UFC 305 in a highly anticipated clash, with 'Stillknocks' cementing his place as the rightful champion.
'The Natural' was recently interviewed by Submission Radio following his decision win over Cannonier, where he discussed a potential bout with 'The Last Stylebender'.
"With all due respect, I think there is no other guy Adesanya should face now 'cause if you look now at the top 8 in the division, I think he's fought everyone except Imavov and Brendan Allen. And Imavov and Brendan Allen are facing each other [next], so he already faced all the other guys."
He continued:
"The only option that comes to him is myself. I think this is the fight to make, I think it will be a fun fight... Definitely a guy I want to face, nothing personal, but just because it makes sense for him and for me too."
Watch Caio Borralho discuss fighting Israel Adesanya below (13:02):
Caio Borralho discusses possible timeline for Israel Adesanya fight
Caio Borralho believes Israel Adesanya is the most logical opponent for him to face next, and during his recent interview with Submission Radio, he discussed a possible date for their potential clash.
During a recent interview with Combat TV, Adesanya's coach Eugene Bareman stated that 'The Last Stylebender' could certainly fight one more time before the end of 2024, which would suit the Brazilian's plans.
While discussing the timeline of his potential fight with Adesanya, 'The Natural' said this:
"I think December is a great date, December, the last pay-per-view of the year. I think we could have an amazing fight... Or late-February is a good date for me, I heard Eugene, his trainer, said that he wants to fight again this year. So maybe December is a great one. But if he doesn't, I think February is the perfect date." [27:15-27:47 in Caio Borralho's aforementioned interview]