Caio Borralho says Israel Adesanya fight is in the works for UFC 312 in Sydney, wants five rounds

Surging UFC middleweight Caio Borralho is allegedly close to getting a potential No. 1 contender fight against Israel Adesanya in the former champ’s friendly territory.

Borralho, a Dana White’s Contender Series alum, has soared up the middleweight rankings over the last year. He most recently defeated Jared Cannonier in a ‘Fight of the Year’ candidate in August.

Borralho, immediately after defeating Cannonier, called for a fight with Adesanya for his next UFC test. Adesanya lost to Dricus du Plessis at UFC 305 and, initially, teased an indefinite hiatus.

But, Adesanya has since pivoted on taking another break and wants to return as soon as possible. UFC 312 in Sydney makes the most sense for his comeback fight.

Borralho says the UFC is formally working on making the Adesanya fight come to fruition in February.

Caio Borralho vs. Israel Adesanya in February?

In a recent interview with MMA Junkie‘s Mike Bohn, Borralho revealed he’s been in talks with the UFC about being Adesanya’s return opponent.

“I want to fight Izzy. We are in talks with UFC, but nothing confirmed yet,” Borralho said. “But that’s the fight we want. I think that’s the fight that makes sense. Adesanya already fought all the guys from (the) top five. Just me and (Nassourdine) Imavov didn’t fight, but Imavov didn’t (have) a good fight last time, so I think they’re thinking about me. Let’s see what the UFC wants…

“A lot of respect for Izzy, you know. I want to fight the best in the world, and I think he’s a legend, one of the best in the world. I want to test myself against him.” (h/t MMA Junkie)

Borralho also admitted that he wants a five-rounder against Adesanya.

As of this writing, the UFC hasn’t announced any news regarding Borralho and Adesanya’s returns. A title rematch between Du Plessis and Sean Strickland has been tossed around as a potential UFC 312 headliner.

Robert Whittaker vs. Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 308 on Saturday is another big-name middleweight matchup to watch. It’s uncertain if the winner will get a title shot for their next fight, opening the door to Borralho and others.

Borralho defeated the likes of Paul Craig, Abus Magomedov, and Armen Petrosyan after earning a UFC contract in 2021. A matchup with Adesanya would do wonders to build his international profile.