UFC CEO Dana White stated earlier this year, “We’ve already started to work on some innovations with Meta around a new fighter rankings system that will debut later this year.” And according to Caio Borralho, the rankings at the moment feel more like a treadmill rather than a ladder. The No. 6 ranked middleweight isn’t just furious, he’s frustrated.
Fighters with losing streaks hold prime spots. Others, like Borralho, stay active, chase challenges, and still can’t break through the glass ceiling. So when Chael Sonnen recently questioned Khamzat Chimaev’s place in the rankings, ‘The Natural’ didn’t just nod along, he took aim at the entire system!
Chael Sonnen scrutinizes Khamzat Chimaev’s middleweight ranking as Caio Borralho fires off on the “crazy” system
Chael Sonnen, never one to shy away from scrutinizing the sport, broke down the mess that is the middleweight rankings in a video on his YouTube channel. Referencing the back and forth between Caio Borralho and Nassourdine Imavov, Sonnen stated, “Imavov, not interested in Caio Borralho, and the reason is Imavov got world championship plans in his immediate future. His evidence of that is that he’s ranked number one. I challenged that, I did not believe he was number one.”
But Sonnen wasn’t buying it. His argument? According to the UFC veteran,” My evidence? Well, reality, that Chimaev exists within the weight class. That Chimaev is undisputed, I apologize, that Chimaev is undefeated, rather, the word I was looking for there. And has been named the number one contender on two separate occasions.”
Sonnen’s main question? Why is an undefeated contender not ranked number one?
It’s a riddle that not even the UFC seems ready to answer. After beating Kamaru Usman and then Robert Whittaker, Chimaev was labeled the next in line. Twice. Yet somehow, when fans look at the rankings, his name isn’t at the top. It’s a bizarre paradox. And Chael wasn’t done as he confessed, “Why would we have a number one contender who’s undefeated, not ranked number one? I don’t know, I will never know.”
That sentiment was echoed loud and clear by ‘The Natural’ when he joined Ariel Helwani for a chat on ‘The Ariel Helwani Show’. When the veteran UFC reporter mentioned that it’s significantly easier to get fights when you’re on the rise than when you are already there, Caio Borralho went off.
“This thing is shit, bro. Michael Chandler lost 4 in a row. He’s #12 still. There’s Paulo Costa. He didn’t fight for like 2 years already. He lost 4 for his last 5 fights. He’s still in the rankings. This is crazy.
These rankings are shit, bro. So I’m out. I don’t care about… pic.twitter.com/J8JXfj3k74
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) April 23, 2025
The Brazilian fighter stated, “This thing is s—, bro. You know? Like, Michael Chandler lost four in a row. He’s number 12 still. You know? There’s Paulo Costa, he didn’t fight for, like, two years already. He lost four of his last five fights. He’s still in the rankings. Like, this is crazy.”
For Borralho, it’s no longer about playing the rankings game. He’s 32. He’s hungry. He’s ready. And he’s tired of being stuck in the middle. As such, he further went on to share, “Give me a high-ranking guy. Give me an up and coming from contender. Give me anyone, brother. I don’t f— care because this ranking doesn’t mean s—. You know?”
And it’s not hard to understand why he’s so fed up. Right now, the middleweight picture is murky, and the title clash between the champ and ‘Borz’ at UFC 317 seems to be up in the air.
Dricus Du Plessis, the reigning champ, is rumored to be nursing an injury that may possibly sideline him until later this year. The belt sits in limbo, and fighters like Caio Borralho are left waiting. So what did he do? He fired off a challenge to the undefeated ‘Borz’, and it looks like things might be heating up between the pair!
‘The Natural’ reveals game plan to halt Chimaev’s unbeaten run in the UFC
When others go silent at the prospect of facing Khamzat Chimaev, Caio Borralho isn’t backing down. After the rumors surrounding the champion’s injury began circulating, ‘The Natural’ took aim at ‘Borz’ and called him out for an interim title clash. Chimaev replied with social media jabs, posting photos of past training sessions, one showing him carrying Borralho and another applying a choke. But Borralho’s not sweating it.
Why? During a recent interview with ‘Submission Radio’, he clarified, “That was a video of him drilling positions that Allan Finfou was coming to him. Actually, that video is from ‘Embedded’ so we were filming for the UFC. We were doing drilling – he was taking the back, doing a rear-naked choke.”
Still, fans saw the images and jumped to conclusions. But for Borralho, the past is just tape. He’s focused on what could come next—and he’s feeling good about his chances. He further shared in the interview, “I think that’s the round that I need to not make a mistake at all. The first round is the dangerous one, and it’s the critical point. After this round, I’m not saying that he is going to go down in his performance or anything like that, but that’s when I’m going up in my performance.”
By the fourth or fifth round, Borralho envisions a turning tide. In fact, he believes he’s built to survive Chimaev’s early storm and thrive in the deep waters!
And maybe that’s what makes him dangerous. ‘The Natural’ is not trying to win headlines. He’s trying to win fights. And if the UFC’s broken ladder won’t let him climb, then he’s ready to turn the cage into a proving ground. Interim belt or not, he wants Khamzat Chimaev.
Do you think the UFC and Dana White will pivot towards a clash between the undefeated ‘Borz’ and the surging Caio Borralho for UFC 317? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
The post After Chael Sonnen Questions Khamzat Chimaev’s Ranking, Caio Borralho Goes Off on Bizarre System Ahead of UFC 317 appeared first on EssentiallySports.
