Of course, if Chimaev decides to make a quick turnaround and fight in October when the UFC heads back to Abu Dhabi, Borralho or Imavov could get the call. But considering ‘Borz’ barely averages one fight per year these days, we wouldn’t bet money on that happening.

Caio Borralho is coming off a victory over Jared Cannonier in August 2024. | Getty/UFC Caio Borralho was not surprised by the result of the UFC 319 headliner. With the experience of having trained with Khamzat Chimaev in Sweden for one month,

Caio Borralho wonders if UFC middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis and contender Khamzat Chimaev are dealing with issues ahead of UFC 319, and that’s why the promotion called him to be the backup fighter for Saturday’s main event.

UFC middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis and undefeated contender Khamzat Chimaev are days away from battling in the UFC 319 main event in Chicago. In one of the biggest fights of the year, Du Plessis will put his belt on the line against arguably the toughest challenge of his title reign.

This is going to be FUN 👀 Reinier de Ridder vs Anthony Hernandez is the #UFCVancouver main event! Tickets on sale Friday | Learn more: https://t.co/Sy7avEfmJe pic.twitter.com/Uoi2AStUWT

Nassourdine Imavov confirms he declined the UFC 319 title fight backup slot, but says it was for quality reasons. With his UFC Fight Night 258 main event on the horizon, Imavov (16-4 MMA, 8-2 UFC) doesn't see much reward in traveling across the world, battling jet lag and cutting weight, only to likely not even fight in the end.

While discussing stylistic matchups for Chimaev, a former title challenger mentioned a top wrestler in Bo Nickal. On Good Good Guy / Bad Guy, Chael Sonnen was asked who he would bet on to beat Chimaev. Nickal was one of the names that came to mind for the former UFC title challenger.