Guilherme Sacco and Gustavo Faldon, from São Paulo (SP)Nov 2, 2023, 05:00Reading: 3 min.
Caio Borralho talks about ‘framing’ of businessman in UFC São Paulo fight; LOOK
Fighter spoke exclusively to ESPN
Undefeated in his last 14 fights, Caio Borralho will have perhaps the most important fight of his career this Saturday, at UFC São Paulo, which takes place at the Ibirapuera Gymnasium.
The Brazilian takes part in one of the duels on the main card and faces Russian Abus Magomedov. His original opponent would be Ukrainian Nursulton Ruziboev. However, about three weeks ago there was a change.
And Caio, who had already denounced the 29-year-old Ruziboev’s suspicious record of 47 fights, raised another point and accused the change of opponent of having been planned by Ali Abdelaziz, manager of both, as well as several UFC stars such as Islam Makhachev, Gilbert Durinho and Khabib Nurmagomedov.
“What I found out is that he (Ruziboev) bought a (result), imagine what we didn’t know. He claimed a knee injury and they removed him already offering Abus. I don’t have much to say about him, he’s a forgotten guy. I hope he’s healthy, everything goes well for him, but he doesn’t come to speak my name anymore, no”, said Borralho, to ESPN.
“I’m almost sure it was (the manager’s setup). This story is very strange. It has nothing to do with the UFC, I think it’s a move by their manager there. Abus wanted to fight me since Abu Dhabi, he called me chicken, I didn’t understand. I made fun of him on social media. They knew that if they offered me the Absz right away, coming off a defeat, I wouldn’t accept it. Ali put Ruziboev on, I found out that he didn’t even go to his camp there He claimed he had a knee injury, I honestly don’t believe it. I’m ready to throw some water at his party”, added Borralho.
Caio Borralho has 14 wins, 1 no contest and one loss on his MMA record. The Brazilian hopes that a victory over Magomedov will see him enter the UFC middleweight rankings.
“That was the only reason I accepted the fight. I’m not even aiming for the top 15 anymore, I’m already aiming for the top 10. The only good thing this fight brings is that I’m going to face the guy who lost to the champion. I know I’m not going straight to the title , but I’m going to the top 15 and aiming for the top 10.”
