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 time and without any problems.

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 inserted 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.”

All three judges scored the fight in Borralho’s favor: 49-45, 49-45 and 48-46. It was a convincing victory for the Brazilian, but it didn’t come easy. Cannonier, who turned 40 this year, hurt Borralho several times. He threw a hard right through Borralho’s guard in the fourth round, opening a cut under his right eye.

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

It was another stellar performance from an athlete from Sao Paulo’s Fighting Nerds gym, which has been 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 crossroads loss 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 victories, however, he has lost two in a row.

History was made before the main event.

Gerald Meerschaert, 36, broke Anderson Silva’s record of 11 wins in the middleweight division with a submission victory over Edmen Shahbazyan. Meerschaert picked up the 12th win by applying a triangle choke in the final minute of the second round, just moments after Shahbazyan knocked him down.