The UFC does not have a numbered event scheduled this month — instead, there are two set for October’s stacked slate — but that doesn’t mean there isn’t anything significant on the line.
UFC Fight Night: Imavov vs. Borralho takes place this weekend in Paris as the UFC returns to France for the fourth consecutive September, and the main event could end up producing the next opponent for new middleweight champion Khamzat Chimaev.
Nassourdine Imavov and Caio Borralho are both riding impressive winning streaks as they head into their five-rounder at Accor Arena.
This will mark the eighth UFC event of 2025 that has been headlined by a middleweight matchup. In fact, roughly one quarter of the UFC’s events so far this year have featured 185-pounders in the main event, which speaks to the compelling nature of the division.
With a fresh, unbeaten star now at the top of the rankings and a pivotal bout between two top contenders next up, it’s a fitting time to take a closer look at the division as a whole.
It wasn’t exciting but it was extremely dominant. Khamzat Chimaev improved to 9-0 in the UFC as he cruised to a decision win to become champion at UFC 319 in August. He isn’t a flawless fighter but his wrestling and grappling are so dominant that it’ll be difficult for any fighter to overcome. While there are some concerns Chimaev won’t be an active champion — the 31-year-old has only fought six times since 2020 — the current titleholder says he’s ready to smash anybody and everybody.
Dricus Du Plessis had his lengthy winning streak snapped and, save for a couple brief moments in the fifth and final round, was thoroughly humbled by Chimaev. He was controlled for 21:40 of the 25-minute contest and absorbed more than 500 total strikes in the match, although the vast majority were not damaging shots.
The South African star is still in his prime at age 31, however, he’ll need multiple impressive wins over top competition to get back into the title picture, given the nature of his most recent outing. Du Plessis already holds notable wins over fellow former champs Israel Adesanya, Sean Strickland (twice) and Robert Whittaker.
“This loss has exploded a desire in me that will have the consequence of an onslaught bigger than the original domination,” Du Plessis stated in a confident social media post late last month after taking a week-long vacation following UFC 319. “My return to glory and pursuit of greatness will be unimaginable for the average-minded.”
Unless the winner of Imavov vs. Borralho emerges with a spectacular highlight finish, don’t be surprised if the UFC waits a little while to make their final decision on which fighter to pair against Chimaev. That’s because there’s essentially a de facto four-man contender tournament set to unfold over the next six weeks.
Imavov is the top-ranked middleweight who has never competed for a UFC title. The 30-year-old who grew up in France is 16-4 as a pro and on a four-fight win streak, including a knockout of Adesanya in February. Imavov’s only loss in the past 4.5 years was a five-round decision to Strickland in early 2023 in a bout that was put together on relatively short notice and took place at 205 pounds.
Meanwhile, Borralho has not lost in more than a decade since dropping his second pro bout. The 32-year-old Brazilian has compiled a 7-0 UFC record since joining the organization three years ago but hasn’t fought since his unanimous decision win over one-time title contender Jared Cannonier more than 12 months ago. Borralho is both a knockout and submission threat and a key member of the red-hot Fighting Nerds team.
Vancouver fans will be treated to a terrific middleweight main event next month when Reinier De Ridder faces Anthony Hernandez at the Oct. 18 Fight Night card at Rogers Arena.
De Ridder has burst onto the UFC scene as a former two-division ONE Championship titleholder. The 34-year-old from the Netherlands improved to 4-0 in the UFC within the first nine months of his debut. His July win over Whittaker proved he’s capable of hanging with the top tier of the division.
Hernandez has also been active and is on an eight-fight winning streak. The 31-year-old from California pushes a pace like no one else in the division and has finished six of his eight wins on his current run, including a submission of Roman Dolidze in their Fight Night main event in early August.
Depending on how Imavov vs. Borralho unfolds, it’s entirely possible that Chimaev’s first title defence could instead be against the winner of De Ridder vs. Hernandez.
Former champions Sean Strickland, Israel Adesanya and Robert Whittaker are all in tough spots within the division. Adesanya, 36, has lost three in a row and his days as a legitimate title threat have passed him by. The same goes for Whittaker, 34, who has lost two in a row and looks like his remarkable strength of schedule has finally caught up to him after years of facing exclusively top-level competition.
Strickland, 34, has lost two of his past three (both to Du Plessis) and is currently serving a suspension for rushing into the cage and punching a fighter at a local MMA event earlier this year. If the brash American can get back into fighting shape and return to form in 2026, it’s possible one or two strong wins could get him back into the title picture since he is one of the more difficult style matchups in the weight class.
Michael “Venom” Page appears to have more going for him at 185 pounds, even though he is a natural welterweight and has said he will likely move back down to 170 pounds at some point. Still, the tricky English striker is 2-0 in the UFC middleweight division this year and is perhaps the most difficult challenge in the division while on the feet. His unique style gave Shara Magomedov and Jared Cannonier fits as he jumped into the top 10 at 185 pounds.
Brendan Allen has lost decisions to both Imavov and Hernandez within the past 12 months but is also ranked in the top 10 and has the tools to give anyone in the weight class a tough day at the office.
Paulo Costa got off to a 13-0 start to his MMA career before losing a title fight to Adesanya in 2020 that began a rough five-year stretch during which the Brazilian went 1-4. Costa bounced back in a big way with a return to form at UFC 318 against Roman Kopylov in July. If he can build off that and string together a few more wins, he could look to use his longstanding rivalry with Chimaev — the pair have talked trash to one another for years — and parlay it into a title shot.
Costa recently teased on social media that he “was offered Shara (Magomedov) in Qatar” and that he accepted the matchup. As mentioned above, Magomedov fell short against Page but the Russian is still a compelling and talented striker. That Qatar event is scheduled for Nov. 22, so we’ll see if this fun matchup ends up coming to fruition.
A trio of middleweights who at times look like they can each compete for gold — Joe Pyfer, Ikram Aliskerov and Gregory Rodrigues — are also names to watch. All three are unranked but coming off impressive wins. Rodrigues doesn’t have his next fight lined up but both Pyfer and Aliskerov are set to compete in October. Pyfer faces Abus Magomedov at UFC 320 on Oct. 4, and Aliskerov meets “The Iron Turtle” Jun Yong Park on Oct. 25 at UFC 321.
England’s Christian Leroy Duncan and Brazil’s Brunno Ferreira are also in their prime fighting years and always live for a highlight finish.
GATEKEEPERS AND TOUGH OUTS
Once you get to the lower third of the top-15 ranked middleweights, you find Jared Cannonier, Marvin Vettori, Roman Dolidze and Roman Kopylov, all of whom appear to have reached their ceiling in terms of title potential. Any unranked fighters looking to take their spot in the top 15, though, will have their work cut out for them. Veteran Brad Tavares, who faces Robert Bryczek in Paris, also falls into this category.
Streaking fighters like Marco Tulio, Jun Yong Park and Kyle Daukaus, who recently returned to the UFC looking better than ever, would need a signature win over an established name to gain significant traction in the division.
A pair of up-and-comers stand above the rest of the pack, and they are Azamat Bekoev and Ateba Gautier.
Bekoev was the Legacy Fighting Alliance champ at 185 pounds before signing with the UFC and debuting earlier this year with two dominant first-round stoppages. The 29-year-old Russian is set to take on Yousri Belgaroui at UFC Vancouver, and another highlight win will set him up for a massive 2026 campaign. Belgaroui is a former kickboxing star and a past rival of both Alex Pereira and Israel Adesanya.
Gautier has been dubbed «the Francis Ngannou of the middleweight division» and is one of the most hyped young fighters on the UFC roster. Gautier is now 8-1 in professional mixed martial arts with seven consecutive wins by KO/TKO, and of those seven wins, only one has gone beyond the opening round. He impressed in his official UFC debut in March by finishing the durable Jose Medina with a knee in one round and got a first-round TKO over Robert Valentin at UFC 318 in just 70 seconds.
The 23-year-old from Cameroon earned a UFC contract with a stoppage win on Dana White’s Contender Series one year ago, and he isn’t the only Contender Series alumnus worth keeping an eye on.
Mansur Abdul-Malik, Bo Nickal and Baysangur Susurkaev are among the standout DWCS veterans who have already found some success in the UFC. Nickal’s progress was stymied by Reinier De Ridder in May, but the collegiate wrestling standout still has untapped potential, while Abdul-Malik and Susurkaev both train with great teams and have undefeated professional records.
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