Caio Borralho promised to knock out Paul Craig in front of the Rio de Janeiro crowd this past May at UFC 301. Borralho had no knockout wins since joining UFC, but did just that, flooring Craig to announce his presence in the middleweight rankings. His new promise for UFC Vegas 96 is a message he plans to deliver to the MMA world — that he’s winning the middleweight title, sooner or later.
Borralho gets his first main event Saturday, battling Jared Cannonier at the UFC APEX, and told MMA Fighting that he will prove to be ready for a shot at the world’s best.
“Everything we’ve built so far has brought us here, and now it’s an opportunity to show the world that the champion has arrived,” Borralho said. “My mantra for the last fight was that I would knock out Paul Craig, and the mantra for this fight is that I will show everybody that the champion has arrived. Show the UFC, show the division, show myself, show the fans.
“Jared has fought great fighters and only lost to champions. He’s had this recent loss that was kind of controversial [to Nassourdine Imavov]. He’s tough to beat, and he’s on a good run at middleweight. A good win over him, a submission or a knockout, definitely puts me in the mix to be the next title contender. I don’t know what the UFC thinks about it or not, if they’ll ask me to do one more fight or something like that, but I’ll be ready for the belt at all times. Beating this guy is what matters now.”
Borralho faced criticism from fans online, even in his native Brazil, when he predicted a knockout of Craig, given the fact he had won four of his first five UFC bouts via decision, but says he won’t bother to pay attention to anyone downplaying his new goal.
“If it bothers people, it means it’s working,” Borralho said. “People will talk about it, it’s going to become a topic, and when it happens, jaws will be dropped: ‘He really called it.’ But I don’t care what people say, as long as it’s a topic of discussion. The goal is to be talked about and get more attention because that sells fights and makes my image bigger. My mantra is this, I’ll show them the new middleweight champion has arrived, and they will have to put up with me.”
The Fighting Nerds representative admitted Cannonier is “very hard to fight,” but sees the 40-year-old veteran slowing down as of late.
“People haven’t seen my standup game yet and that’s what I want to show in this fight,” Borralho said. “I’ll stay on his face the entire time and put on a pace he can’t keep up with. He’s 40 now and we’ve seen him slow down after the second round. I’ll use my age and conditioning and cardio, which is perfect for five rounds, to make him work. Let’s see what he can do.”
Cannonier has fought all five rounds before under the UFC banner, like when he challenged Israel Adesanya for the belt in a lackluster showdown. Borralho attempts his first 25-minute bout in the octagon at UFC Vegas 96, but he’s confident in his preparation.
“I think I’ll stop him early,” Borralho said. “Depending on how he reacts early in the fight, I can knock him out in the first round. But I’m ready to go five rounds, I’m ready for a war. I don’t think he’s ready for a war, I don’t think he has cardio for that. I’m ready for the toughest fight of my career.
“Don’t get me wrong, I respect Jared Cannonier a lot. He’s a phenomenal athlete and might surprise with a good cardio and come well prepared, looking to get back to the path for the belt, but I’m ready for everything. I’m ready for the unexpected.”
