Outside Source
Caio Borralho struggled against Nassourdine Imavov. | Getty/UFC
In hindsight, perhaps Caio Borralho shouldn’t have agreed to be an alternate for UFC 319.
That’s Sean Strickland’s perspective after the Brazilian dropped a unanimous decision to Nassourdine Imavov in a potential middleweight title eliminator on Saturday in the UFC Paris main event. A few weeks prior, Borralho served as the backup fighter for the title clash between Khamzat Chimaev and Du Plessis. While “The Natural” made weight ahead of the event, his services weren’t needed, as Chimaev captured 185-pound gold with a dominant decision triumph over Du Pless on Aug. 16.
Strickland trained with Borralho ahead of UFC Paris, and he claims to have noticed the adverse effects of the Brazilian having to cut weight twice within one month’s time.
“Caio is my buddy, but he’s an idiot,” Strickland wrote on X. “He trained with us and was useless.
“Me: What’s wrong with you?
“Caio: I’m cutting, I’m an alternate.
“So you’re giving up four weeks of your camp cutting weight twice while having a fight coming up? Whoever told you to do that, please hit him.”
Caio is my buddy but hes an idiot. He trained with us and was useless.
Me “whats wrong with you”
Caio “Im cutting, im an alternate”So you’re giving up 4 weeks of your camp cutting weight twice while having a fight coming up?
Whoever told you to do that, please hit him
— Sean Strickland (@SStricklandMMA) September 7, 2025
Strickland: I Wanted to Hit Him
It was frustrating for Strickland to observe Borralho training at less than peak capacity.
“It was so frustrating I wanted to hit him. I didn’t say anything because I wanted to keep his spirits up, but he really took some bad advice from someone,” Strickland wrote. “That fight wasn’t him. It was missing four weeks of training cutting weight twice.
“What do you think happens when you kill your body so much in such a short period of time?” Strickland added. “Exactly that.”
It was so frustrating I wanted to hit him.. I didnt say anything because I wanted to keep his spirits up but he really took some bad advice from someone. That fight wasnt him. It was missing 4 weeks of training cutting weight twice
— Sean Strickland (@SStricklandMMA) September 7, 2025
Borralho had a seven-fight UFC winning streak snapped by Imavov. The Fighting Nerds standout could have been on the verge of a title shot had he won in Paris, but now he’ll have some more work to do in order to return to contention.
This article first appeared at Recent News on Sherdog.com
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