Caio Borralho outlasts Jared Cannonier in UFC main event

It’s not easy to break into the top five of the UFC rankings, but Caio Borralho has done it in a relatively short period of time and without a single blemish.

Borralho, a 31-year-old contender from Sao Paulo, Brazil, recorded the biggest win of his career on Saturday, a unanimous decision over former title challenger Jared Cannonier. The victory improved his UFC record to 7-0 and immediately inserts his name into the middleweight title race. Cannonier was ranked No. 5 in the division heading into the UFC Fight Night main event at the Apex in Las Vegas.

“I’ve had incredible performances in the UFC for a long time and it’s never been an easy road,” Borralho said. “All of my opponents were tough and I think they all brought out the best in me in this cage and made me the athlete that I am… I’m the new face (of the division). On Tuesday I want to see my name ranked in the top five.”

The three judges who scored the fight gave Borralho the victory: 49-45, 49-45 and 48-46. It was a convincing victory for the Brazilian, but it certainly wasn’t easy. Cannonier, who turned 40 earlier this year, hurt Borralho several times. In the fourth round, he threw a right hand at Borralho’s guard, which opened a cut under his right eye.

Borralho took it in stride, however, outlanding Cannonier in total strikes 141-84, according to UFC Stats. He pestered him with leg kicks in the opening minutes, so much so that Cannonier changed his stance as early as the first round. He put an exclamation point on the performance in the fifth round, dropping Cannonier with a left hand and nearly finishing him off with ground strikes.

It was another stellar performance from an athlete from Sao Paulo’s Fighting Nerds gym, who has been steadily gaining notoriety over the past year. Carlos Prates, another of his students, became the first man to knock out Li Jingliang last week at UFC 305.

“We study this game a lot and put our whole soul into it,” Borralho said. “Everything is at stake for us… Everyone who sees (the gym’s signature reading glasses) should be afraid. We are the Fighting Nerds and we are here to take control.”

Borralho, who signed with the UFC in 2021 after winning twice on Dana White’s Contender Series, wasted no time in calling out defending champion Dricus Du Plessis.

On the other hand, it is a loss at a crossroads for Cannonier, who rebounded well from a failed title shot in 2022 with back-to-back wins against Sean Strickland and Marvin Vettori. Since those two wins, however, he has lost two in a row.

In addition to the main event, history was made earlier in the night. Gerald Meerschaert, 36, broke Anderson Silva’s middleweight record of 11 finishes within the division with a submission of Edmen Shahbazyan. Meerschaert secured an armbar choke in the final minute of the second round, just moments after Shahbazyan had dropped him. He has the most finishes in division history with 12.