No. 12 Caio Borralho defeated No. 5 Jared Cannonier in the main event of the UFC Vegas 96 on Saturday night at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada. When the rankings are updated on Tuesday, Borralho will rightfully find himself in the top 10 of the UFC Middleweight division. Borralho won this fight by unanimous decision which the judges scored 49-46, 49-45, and 48-46.
Although Borralho called out the Undisputed UFC Middleweight Champion Dricus Du Plessis, it is unlikely that he will get a title fight immediately. But, Borralho is in an incredible spot because he hasn’t fought any of the four veterans at the top of the division; Du Plessis, Israel Adesanya, Sean Strickland, and Robert Whittaker.
Borralho, 31, proved on Saturday night that he has what it takes to be one of the best middleweights in the world. Cannonier did land some good strikes throughout the fight, but the best moments of the bout were captured by Borralho. The Natural out-landed The Killa Gorilla 153 to 83 significant strikes. Borralho was only credited with one knockdown in the fight but severely hurt Cannonier multiple times in the contest. Cannonier put up a good fight and looked great, especially being 4o years old. Borralho, however, was the one dictating the pace and was the quicker fighter from start to finish.
Borralho is now 17-1 while being 7-0 in the UFC after earning a contract through Dana White’s Contender Series in 2021. Although he has a loss on his record, it came in his second professional mixed martial arts fight in 2015.
Now, let’s look at what Borralho should do next after the biggest victory of his career thus far.
Who should Borralho fight next?
No. 2 Israel Adesanya
Adesanya lost his last title fight vs. Du Plessis at UFC 305. It is now a waiting game to see what he wants to do next in his historic career. If Adesanya wants to stay in the middleweight division, Borralho is a great opponent as they have never fought before. If Borralho wants the quickest path from here to a title shot, this is it. Even though Adesanya has lost three out of his last four fights, he is still one of the greatest fighters ever in the middleweight division and a former champion. A win over Adesanya would instantly give Borralho a title shot and give him a ton of credibility.
Winner of No. 4 Nassourdine Imavov vs. No. 7 Brendan Allen
Imavov and Allen is a great matchup that is coming up on September 28 in Paris, France between two of the best prospects in the middleweight division. Imavov is 5-1-1 in his last seven contests and is coming off a win against Cannonier as well. Allen is riding a seven-fight winning streak with five submissions in the UFC. Borralho facing the winner of this bout would be great as they are all up-and-coming great fighters.
The loser of No. 3 Robert Whittaker vs. No. 11 Khamzat Chimaev
The highly anticipated matchup between Whittaker and Chimaev has been rescheduled to take place at UFC 308 on October 24 in Abu Dhabi. The next challenger for Du Plessis is likely the winner of this fight or Strickland. But who does the loser of this contest fight next? Borralho vs. either Whittaker or Chimaev would be a highly entertaining fight.
We will have to wait and see who the UFC matchmakers put Borralho up against next, but whoever it is, be on the lookout because The Natural is quickly becoming one of the best prospects in the UFC.
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