Following the biggest win of his career, Caio Borralho now wants a former champion, in his pursuit of UFC gold.
‘The Natural’ defeated Jared Cannonier over five rounds to claim a unanimous decision at UFC Vegas 96 and leapfrogged many in the Middleweight division to claim the number 5 spot in the rankings, taking a huge step closer to title contention.
Immediately after the contest, the 31-year-old called for his shot against the champion, Dricus Du Plessis, but in a recent interview with Inside Fighting, the Brazilian revealed that since speaking to UFC bosses, he now has a new name on his lips, in the form of Israel Adesanya. Borralho is excited at the prospect of facing the former champion and believes if he can find a route to victory against ‘The Last Stylebender’ he will solidify himself as next in line for a shot at the Middleweight strap.
“With all due respect, that as I always say, you know, I really like Izzy, he’s a fucking legend but I think it is my time now, the time to get him. Also I was talking to the guys and they were saying, like ‘I don't know if we are going to give you straight (to) Dricus because I think Dricus has to fight Strickland now.
“I did the call out just because, you know, if some guy get hurt, that is going to fight Dricus and and get hurt (in the build up) or something like that, I am sure my name is going to appear because I already called him out, there’s a story around it, you know. I think was a smart choice but if they say I have one more fight to do, why not with one of the greatest champions of this Middleweight division or one very dominant guy at his time.
“I think it's definitely a good fight for me and yeah, I'm looking forward to this fight, let’s see if he's going to fight this year in December or maybe next year, and I'll be ready for sure.”
The unbeaten Brazilian fully believes that the victory has brought him to the attention of many of the other athletes in the Middleweight division following his career best performance and credits Cannonier with bringing out the best in him
“Yeah, definitely. Like, you know, matter of how people see me. All the fighters sees me, how the fans sees myself, you know, like they definitely see a different guy on this fight. But it wasn't a different guy. It was always the same guy as awlays but this time I choose to do it, you know, like the opponent brought me this, you know. How good Jared was, that's what brought out how good I am.”
You can see the full interview below:
