In the main event of UFC Vegas 96, we are going to see a big time matchup in the middleweight division. Former title challenger Jared Cannonier (17-7) will be tasked with taking on arguably the divisions top prospect in Brazil’s Caio Borralho (16-1).
This is a massive opportunity for Borralho who enters ranked 12th in the division, but he’ll be taking on the fifth ranked contender in Jared Cannonier. Borralho lost his second ever professional MMA bout back in 2015 and he hasn’t lost since. Back in 2021, he made two appearances on Dana White’s Contender Series.
The first one he won a decision and didn’t get a contract. They brought him back a second time and he scored a first round finish to earn his UFC contract. Since making the jump to the promotion, he’s gone a perfect 6-0 and he continues looking better and better. In his last fight, he stopped Paul Craig in the second round.
While he’s been taking slow steps up, this is a big leap in competition in taking on Jared Cannonier. “The Killa Gorilla” is hungry to get back in the win column after his last fight. He took on Nassourdine Imavov at UFC Louisville and looked really good early. However, Imavov started taking over and then in the fourth round, Cannonier got hurt bad and the fight was stopped.
It was a horrific stoppage, but Cannonier still lost the fight. That snapped a two-fight winning streak that saw Cannonier defeat Marvin Vettori and former champion Sean Strickland.
UFC Vegas 96 Prediction
This is such an intriguing matchup and one that came out of left field. A few weeks ago, this wasn’t even a fight and now it’s headlining this weekends card from The APEX. I honestly think that the short notice might favor Borralho in this matchup.
While he doesn’t look like it, Cannonier is 40-years-old. His cardio has been much improved, but I’m wondering how he’ll do on a short-notice fight against someone as dangerous as Borralho. I like Borralho’s technique on the feet especially if he fights from range. He’s the bigger guy in tomorrow night’s fight which is crazy considering Cannonier fought at heavyweight.
Cannonier has the power, but I also like the grappling of Borralho. I think around the third round, Borralho is going to land something big that’ll hurt Cannonier. In a scramble to recover, Borralho will secure a submission to leap into the UFC’s top five at middleweight.
Prediction: Caio Borralho by Submission