Daniel Cunningham
This past Saturday in the co-main event of UFC 326, we saw a pivotal matchup in the middleweight division. Caio Borralho (18-2) was taking on Reinier De Ridder (21-4). Both men were looking to bounce back after suffering losses at the end of last year.
Borralho and De Ridder were on the doorstep of a middleweight title fight last year before they each lost. On Saturday night, they were looking to get right back in the mix at 185 pounds.
The fight started very well for Borralho who definitely had the speed advantage on the feet. That said, RDR did a really good job of using forward pressure and mixing in the grappling. That said, he wasn’t able to have much success at all in taking Borralho down.
After two rounds, I had the fight even with both men having success. Borralho landed the better shots in the final round and I had him winning. All three judges gave the fight at UFC 326 to Borralho 30-27, but the fight seemed much closer than that.
What’s next after UFC 326?
De Ridder took to social media today where he announced that he would be moving up to light heavyweight following his loss to Borralho. RDR is very big for the middleweight division and I think he will translate well to 205 given his frame and I think that his cardio will improve.
I would think he might take a little time before taking his next fight, but he’s moving up at the right time. Next month, Jiri Prochazka and Carlos Ulberg are headlining UFC 327 for the vacant title after Alex Pereira moved up. I think RDR could come right in and fight top ten competition at 205.
In looking at the division, I think you could book him right away against someone like Jamahal Hill. Someone on a losing streak like De Ridder, but someone near the top of the division to see how well he translates.
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