Caio Borralho has weighed in on the current UFC middleweight title picture.<\/p>\n
Sean Strickland<\/a> (30-7 MMA, 17-7 UFC) emerged as a potential title challenger after he finished Anthony Hernandez in Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 267 headliner<\/a> in Houston. Although Strickland was an underdog, Borralho (17-2 MMA, 7-1 UFC) says he knew the former UFC middleweight champ was a bad stylistic matchup for Hernandez.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n “I kind of predicted the way it was,” Borralho told MMA Junkie. “I said to everyone I think it’s Sean’s fight because I think the style doesn’t match at all because ‘Fluffy’ needs a guy who throws a lot of power so these guys get tired. (Strickland) doesn’t get tired, and then he goes up. I don’t think this happens when you fight Strickland. Strickland likes to touch you with a lot of jabs, doesn’t commit that much with the punches, and he doesn’t gas out.<\/p>\n “One very important point is he has great takedown defense, great wrestling. He just doesn’t use it, but he has great grappling, great wrestling, great takedown defense, and I think in the middle of the fight, ‘Fluffy’ was kind of lost a little bit, then he needed to go forward a little bit harder and then Sean caught him with the knee. So, the fight went the way that I predicted. I didn’t believe Sean could really TKO ‘Fluffy,’ but I imagined he would win this fight.”<\/p>\n Borralho, who’s coming off a main event loss to Nassourdine Imavov<\/a> (17-4 MMA, 9-2 UFC) this past September, admits Imavov should be the No. 1 contender. However, he sees Strickland giving UFC middleweight champion Khamzat Chimaev<\/a> (15-0 MMA, 9-0 UFC) a sterner test.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n “I think Imavov is a better striker, faster. I know that. I felt that already,” Borralho said. “I fought with one of them and trained with the other. Different styles, but I think that Imavov wouldn’t do so good with Khamzat’s wrestling.<\/p>\n “That’s the way that I think Strickland could go. I don’t know if Strickland could really wrestle with Khamzat, but I think he could defend a little bit more and make Khamzat a little bit more tired, but we all know Khamzat’s wrestling is another level.”<\/p>\n