This past Saturday night in the main event of UFC Vegas 96, we saw a big time middleweight main event. Former title challenger Jared Cannonier (17-8) was looking to defend his spot in the top five and avoid a second straight loss as he took on Caio Borralho (17-1).
Heading into this fight, I figured that Cannonier’s path to victory was in the standup. I honestly figured we’d see Borralho look to take this fight to the ground. Given the power of Cannonier, I just figured we’d see Borralho mix in his wrestling and try to use his ground skills. That didn’t happen at all on Saturday night and I thought that was going to favor Cannonier.
In the first round, I really liked what we saw from Borralho especially with his leg kicks. That said, Cannonier really came on strongly in the second round to take momentum back. The third round was a clear round for Borralho and then Cannonier made things close again in the fourth round.
However, in the fifth round, Cannonier got hurt badly by Borralho. Borralho nearly finished the fight and that was a massive statement. Cannonier truly looked out at one point, but he survived to the final bell, but in the end, it was a clear win for the Brazilian at UFC Vegas 96.
What’s next after UFC Vegas 96?
Back in 2018, Cannonier dropped down to the middleweight division. He went 5-1 in his first six fights with the lone loss coming against Robert Whittaker. This stretch earned him a title shot against Israel Adesanya at UFC 276. He lost that fight, but then won two straight fights against Sean Strickland and Marvin Vettori.
At that point, he was 7-2 in the middleweight division with his only losses being against the two former UFC middleweight champions. Entering 2024, he looked like he was right there in terms of title contention. However, it’s been a really rough year for Cannonier losing twice to Nassourdine Imavov and now Caio Borralho.
So, what’s next for the former UFC title challenger? I honestly think it’s a great time for him to fight another guy on a two-fight losing streak in the top ten. If you’re asking me, the perfect fight is Jared Cannonier – Paulo Costa. Just makes too much sense.