UFC Vegas 96: UFC Apex; Las Vegas, Nevada
Eventually everyone needs to prove their worth. And as of right now it’s been a rising trajectory for Caio Borralho. The 31-year old Brazilian is proving he’s more than just a ground fighter. His hand speed is impressive, and he can slip and rip with the best of them. As he’s jumping ranking slots, The Natural keeps thriving under pressure in a tough division.
He stepped up the level of opponent big time in the fifth ranked Jared Cannonier. It was a big risk small reward for The Killa Gorilla. But that’s what makes solid fighters. Sometimes you just have to gamble on yourself. And in fact he put Borralho through the biggest test of his career.
The back and forth fight was tied heading into the fifth round. The championship rounds is somewhere Borralho has never been. When Cannonier let his hands go, and was on his toes, he was somewhat successful. He gave Borralho a nasty gash under his right eye in round four. And had a solid hook working. What was the final nail in the coffin though, was a vicious combo lighting up Cannonier and dropping him. Borralho followed him down with ground and pound, and also hunted for a triangle.
But make no mistakes about it, Cannonier’s gameplan changed early in the fight when Borralho completely chopped up Cannonier’s left leg. The unanimous decision 49-45 2x, 48-46 was the exclamation point in his career so far.
The Natural Thrives Under The Lights For The First Time… Was The Callout Smart?
Calling out the champion. Of course he wants a title shot. But that’s not going to happen right now. There’s bigger fish to fry for Dricus Du Plessis. Plus Borralho despite his gifts, does have holes the champion will expose big time.
He was stung a couple of times. So it would be nice to see his defense improve a bit more. And yes he’s fast. But the champion is quicker. But there’s two ways that he can go. First, he could take out the struggling Marvin Vettori. Or due to the eye cut, he can wait and face the Nassourdine Imavov – Brendan Allen winner. Allen has the takedown defense, and speed that would give Borralho the next biggest challenge. And he’d be able to hang with Borralho on the ground also. Allen has a solid chin, but saying it could hold up to the attack coming at him might be a stretch. With Borralho’s kicking game it would open that chin up a bit more too.
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