Fighting Nerd: Sean Strickland Has The Best Chance to Uncrown Khamzat Chimaev

Team Fighting Nerds’ Caio Borralho believes Sean Strickland has a better chance of dethroning UFC middleweight champion Khamzat Chimaev than top contender Nassourdine Imavov, who is riding a five-fight win streak and has also beaten Borralho in 2025.

During a recent interview with MMA Junkie’s Mike Bohn, Borralho firstly lauded Strickland’s UFC Houston performance, where the former UFC champ stopped Anthony Hernandez in Round 3 by TKO and reinserted himself into the race for a title shot.

Caio Borralho thinks Sean Strickland would fare better against Khamzat Chimaev than Nassourdine Imavov

During the same interview, when asked to weigh in on who has the better chance of dethroning Khamzat Chimaev between Nassourdine Imavov and Sean Strickland, Borralho picked the American.

Although “The Sniper” ended Borralho’s undefeated run in the UFC, he still believes former training partner “Tarzan” has a better chance against the Chechen-born Emirati. He said:

“I think Imavov is the better striker, I could say faster and all that. I felt that. I already 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, you know. That’s the way that I think Strickland could go. I don’t know if Strickland could really like wrestle with Khamzat, but I think he could defend a little bit more and make Khamzat a little bit more tired and all that, but we all know that Khamzat’s wrestling is on another level. So, I think your question was if I think he would do better than Imavov. I think so.”

Check out Caio Borralho’s comments below (4:08)

Borralho believes Sean Strickland’s sharp jab, relentless forward pressure, unorthodox striking style, and his ability to dictate the pace and defend takedowns could make him a serious challenge for the UFC middleweight kingpin.

Borralho, meanwhile, returned to winning ways this past weekend at UFC 326, cruising to a unanimous decision victory over Reinier de Ridder.

Now, “The Natural” has his crosshairs on former champ Dricus du Plessis. This past weekend, during the octagon interview, Borralho told Joe Rogan:

“But I have one name in my mind, Joe. Dricus du Plessis, where are you, boy?”

Check out Caio Borralho’s comments below (2:31):