Nassourdine Imavov sent the French faithful home happy to close out a record-tying night.
In a battle of top-ranked middleweight contenders, France’s Imavov outworked and outclassed Caio Borralho on Saturday at UFC Paris, earning a one-sided unanimous decision and securing a 5-0 sweep for his countrymen on a riotous night that also tied the record for most finishes (11) on an UFC event in the modern era. The judges ultimately scored the contest 50-45, 49-46 and 49-46 for Imavov, who picked up his fifth straight UFC win and called for the first shot at new middleweight champion Khamzat Chimaev.
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“I. Am. Next,” Imavov declared post-fight to an eruption of cheers from the French fans.
“Absolutely, no hesitation whatsoever — I’m next. It’s been 10 years that [Borralho] was unbeaten and I’ve beaten him, and I’ve beaten him with style as well. Definitely, I need to be the next one.”
While Imavov’s assertion about the method of his victory may be slight hyperbole, there’s no questioning his pillar-to-post dominance over the Brazilian. Imavov (17-4, 1 NC) led the dance from the opening bell, employing a patient and pressure-heavy game plan that left Borralho (17-2, 1 NC) struggling to find any offense throughout the majority of the bout. Imavov repeatedly beat Borralho to the punch in the exchanges and shucked off all five takedown attempts with ease from the Fighting Nerds product.
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Imavov never had Borralho in any serious danger, but instead banked rounds and built a steady lead off the work of his jab, short combinations and disciplined distance management, with Round 3 being the only stanza in which Borralho showed any signs of coming alive offensively — signs which were quickly quashed by Imavov with his businesslike approach in the championship rounds.
Afterward, Imavov indicated that a potential injury suffered early in the bout may have slowed him down.
“Considering the circumstance, I’m really happy with my performance,” he explained. “I have to say, I don’t know what it was, but on my right foot there’s either a tendon or something in my heel that let go. It was really painful. I would’ve liked to get the finish, but I’m satisfied with it as it is.”
The result brings an anticlimactic end to what had been a flawless Octagon run for Borralho, who entered the night riding a seven-fight UFC win streak and nine-year unbeaten streak overall.
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“I think Nassourdine was just the better man today,” Borralho said post-fight. “He was very fast, as I was expecting, so he did very good in the fight, I couldn’t attack that much. I wanted to make this fight entertaining for the fans and for the UFC, so I tried to strike with one of the best strikers in the world, and that’s why you guys saw a great war. I just need to find my adrenaline back. I need to find some of my, not motivation, but I was with no adrenaline, nothing, and I couldn’t pick it up into the fight.”
In the co-main event, Borralho’s Fighting Nerds teammate also suffered a similar disappointment, as France’s Benoit Saint Denis (15-3, 1 NC) dominated then submitted Mauricio Ruffy (12-2) for a massive rear-naked choke win. “BSD” took Ruffy down at will and mounted him multiple times before securing the fight-ending submission at the 2:56 mark of Round 2, ending Ruffy’s own unbeaten run in the UFC.
Saint Denis has now won back-to-back bouts since suffering the first two-fight losing streak of his career at the hands of Dustin Poirier and Renato Moicano.
France’s Benoit Saint Denis (top) grapples on the ground with Brazil’s Mauricio Ruffy at UFC Paris.
(JULIEN DE ROSA via Getty Images)
Check out full UFC Paris: Imavov vs. Borralho results and highlights below, as well as Uncrowned’s round-by-round play-by-play of the final two bouts of the day.
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Main Card
Middleweight: Nassourdine Imavov def. Caio Borralho via unanimous decision (50-45, 49-46, 49-46)
Lightweight: Benoit Saint Denis def. Mauricio Ruffy via submission (rear-naked choke) at 2:56 of R2 | Watch finish
Light heavyweight: Modestas Bukauskas def. Paul Craig via TKO (strikes) at 5:00 of R1 | Watch finish | Craig retires
Lightweight: Mason Jones def. Bolaji Oki via TKO (strikes) 3:18 of R2 | Watch finish
Welterweight: Axel Sola def. Rhys McKee via TKO (punches) at 2:02 of R3 | Watch finish
Featherweight: William Gomis def. Robert Ruchala via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
Prelims
Light heavyweight: Oumar Sy def. Brendson Ribeiro via TKO (punches) at 4:42 of R1 | Watch finish
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Heavyweight: Ante Delija def. Marcin Tybura via TKO (punches) at 2:03 of R1 | Watch finish | Aspinall reacts
Lightweight: Kaue Fernandes def. Harry Hardwick via TKO (leg kicks) at 3:21 of R1 | Watch finish
Welterweight: Sam Patterson def. Trey Waters via TKO (punches) at 3:01 of R1 | Watch finish
Middleweight: Robert Bryczek def. Brad Tavares via TKO (punches) at 1:43 of R3 | Watch finish
Welterweight: Rinat Fakhretdinov def. Andreas Gustafsson via TKO (strikes) at :54 of R1 | Watch finish
Strawweight: Sam Hughes def. Shauna Bannon via submission (rear-naked choke) at 1:58 of R2 | Watch finish