Israel Adesanya expects Caio Borralho to hold serve as the favorite against Nassourdine Imavov in Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 258 main event.
Streaking middleweight contenders Borralho (17-1 MMA, 7-0 UFC) and Imavov (16-4 MMA, 8-2 UFC) will meet in a high-stakes matchup at Accor Arena in Paris (ESPN+). Former divisional champion Adesanya will be watching closely, and he sees the result going one direction.
“I’ll pick Caio for this fight,” Adesanya said on his YouTube channel. “It’s a well-matched fight, but I think Caio – they’re fighting 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 be an impact on him negatively or positively. I’m going to go with Caio this fight, and I’m going to go decision by Caio.”
Adesanya (), who is coming off a TKO loss to Imavov in February, thinks Borralho is the superior striker and expects Imavov to initiate grappling exchanges, but it won’t be enough.
“The hands will be too much for him from Caio, so he’ll have to mix it up to keep Caio guessing,” Adesanya said. “I’m still going to go Caio by unanimous decision, but it’ll be a good fight.”
