Caio Borralho secured the biggest win of his career by outlasting Jared Cannonier in a five-round battle at UFC Vegas 96, extending his win streak to 16 fights with a unanimous decision victory.
Caio Borralho dug deep when he needed it most to pick up the biggest win of his career.
The Fighting Nerds standout improved his win streak to 16 fights. He outlasted Jared Cannonier in a five-round war to cap off Saturday’s UFC Vegas 96 fight card at the APEX.
All three judges scored the fight for Borralho. Two gave the surging 185-pounder four of the five rounds. The official scores were 49-45, 49-45, and 48-46.
The fight began with Borralho landing a pair of hard jabs, leaving some damage on Cannonier’s nose. Then came a nasty eye poke from Borralho.
As the action resumed, Cannonier landed a nice left hook. Borralho countered with brutal calf kicks that were quite effective. Cannonier had his moments, but Borralho simply had more.
Both men came out aggressive in Round 2. Cannonier put Borralho on the back foot, but the Brazilian continued to have success with the jab.
Cannonier landed a heavy right hand that saw Borralho’s face change, followed by a nice combination. The confidence of “Killa Gorilla” grew as the round progressed, taking momentum into the third.
Things were a bit more tentative to start the third. Both men landed some shots.
The final minute is where things really turned up. Borralho had Cannonier badly hurt after a combination. But the 40-year-old battled through it and even landed a few good punches before the horn sounded.
As the championship rounds began, Cannonier found early success with beautifully timed counter punches and combinations. The one-time title challenger had the biggest moments in Round 4, even busting open a cut below Borralho’s right eye. It was a very close stanza.
The final round was a battle of attrition. Both fighters felt the effects of the previous 20 minutes.
The fighter who moved forward continually found success in a back-and-forth battle — until Borralho dropped Cannonier with a brutal shot. The fight looked very close to being stopped, but referee Dan Miragliotta let it play out.
Borralho slapped on an arm-triangle choke, but Cannonier survived and made it to the final horn to cap off a great fight.
With the win, “The Natural” moves to 7-0 inside the octagon. He will likely have a single-digit number next to his name when the new UFC middleweight rankings come out on Monday.
Following the victory, Borralho called for middleweight champ Dricus du Plessis. Although he will likely have more work to do before getting that opportunity.
Cannonier has now dropped two straight. This includes a TKO loss to Nassourdine Imavov in June’s main event at UFC Louisville.