Caio Borralho Questions Adesanya’s UFC Return
Caio Borralho questioned whether Israel Adesanya could mount another title run after Nassourdine Imavov stopped the former champion in Riyadh on February 1, 2025. The loss was a major turn in Adesanya’s career, but it did not by itself prove that his time among the division’s elite was over. Borralho’s comments reflected a contender’s assessment of a changing middleweight field, while Adesanya’s long record and future choices remained his own to define.
Imavov delivers the decisive result
Adesanya began well, using feints and kicks to the body as he looked to manage Imavov’s pressure. Early in the second round, Imavov landed a powerful right hand and followed with an uppercut that sent Adesanya down. The referee allowed the action to continue briefly before stepping in as Imavov followed with strikes. The technical knockout gave Imavov the biggest win of his career to that point and placed him firmly in the title conversation.
The defeat extended a difficult stretch for Adesanya, who had already lost the middleweight championship to Sean Strickland in 2023 and fallen to Dricus du Plessis in a title fight in 2024. He was returning to competition after the latter defeat, aiming to restart his climb. Instead, Imavov became the first opponent to stop him with strikes since Alex Pereira’s fifth-round TKO at UFC 281 in November 2022 in the promotion, underscoring the danger posed by a younger, fast-rising contender.
Borralho’s assessment of the title picture
Borralho, then an unbeaten contender in the promotion, reacted by saying he did not expect Adesanya to make another run to the championship. He argued that the division was evolving toward more complete fighters and that recent results had changed the path back to a title opportunity. The comments were analysis and opinion from a rival, not an official verdict on Adesanya’s career or a direct statement that the former champion had to retire.
The distinction is important because “reign” can describe two different things: holding a belt and remaining a top contender. Adesanya had already lost the title before facing Imavov, so Borralho was discussing a possible return to championship contention rather than the end of an active title reign. A single knockout loss can alter matchmaking and momentum, yet it cannot erase years of title defenses, elite wins and championship performances.
A division moving on while Adesanya decides what is next
Imavov’s victory sharpened the middleweight picture, while the upcoming title rematch between Dricus du Plessis and Strickland offered another route for contenders to measure themselves. Borralho was among the fighters seeking a defining matchup, and his later bout with Imavov in Paris in September 2025 showed how quickly the rankings could shift. Imavov won that contest by unanimous decision, further strengthening his own standing.
For Adesanya, the question after Riyadh was how he wanted to continue, not whether a rival could declare his career finished. His loss to Imavov was emphatic, and Borralho’s skepticism captured the competitive mood in a division eager for new title challengers. The former champion’s next steps would determine whether he could rebuild toward contention or choose a different direction. Until then, “reign over” remained a provocative question, not a settled answer.
Sources: Reuters fight report; official event recap; Borralho’s reaction; Imavov–Borralho result.
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Tags: MMA
