Caio Borralho sported a nasty cut under his right eye after five bruising rounds against American Jared Cannonier in Las Vegas.
However, the 31-year-old from the Fighting Nerds team certainly showed his impressive ring intellect on the night. Borralho’s ambitions were evident when he called out the reigning champion once again, and is eager to dethrone Dricus Du Plessis.
Caio Borralho again called out reigning UFC middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis after powering his way past Jared Cannonier with a unanimous decision victory at UFC Vegas 96.
It was a standout victory over Cannonier, as the Brazilian was scored the victor 49-45, 49-45, 48-46 by the judges.
A gripping opening to the fight enthralled and delighted in equal measure, and it was Caio Borralho who made the brighter start with some well-timed shots.
Cannonier rallied well in the second round, but was caught by a brutal left hand as the third came to a close.
The American hit back, though, and Borralho received a nasty cut above his right eye after being caught with a flurry of telling shots.
This fight remained in the balance heading into the fifth and final round, until Caio Borralho pulled out a superb right hook and left-hand combination to send Cannonier tumbling down to the canvas.
The 31-year-old rounded off the contest with a superbly-timed chokehold to edge this keenly-contested affair.
Borralho believes this win warrants a move up into the top five of the middleweight rankings and is now targeting a fight with reigning middleweight king Du Plessis.
“I think this fight with Dricus is a good fight; I’ve called him out two times, and this is the third time I’ve called him out,” said Caio Borralho in an interview with the UFC.
“After the second time, he said: ‘get two more wins and we can talk.’ I’ve already got four more wins, so now it’s my time.
“He’s already beaten everyone, and I’m the new face of the division and I showed that I’m durable and have everything to be a champion.
“I just need a chance to prove it and I hope the UFC gives me this chance; this is my belt.”
Meanwhile, Tabatha Ricci came out on top in the co-main event as she overcame Angela Hill by unanimous decision with a scorecard of 29-28, 29-28, 29-28 in her favour.
There were also important wins for Marion Santos and Ryan Loder, who secured second-round stoppage victories to win their respective tournaments in The Ultimate Fighter season 32.
Santos won featherweight honours against Kaan Ofli, and Ryan Loder took the middleweight crown against Robert Valentin.
Michael Morales was in no mood to hang around with his first-round technical knockout win over Neil Magny, while Gerald Meerschaert powered past Edmen Shahbazyan with a round-two submission.
The Milwaukee fighter now has the most stoppage wins UFC middleweight history, overtaking Anderson Silva.