Caio Borrallo received some valuable advice from Sean Strickland ahead of his first career Ultimate Fighting Championship main event.
Borrallo will appear in the main event of UFC on ESPN 62 against veteran middleweight contender Jared Cannonier at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Aug. 24. Borrallo, formerly of Brazil’s Fighting Nerds team, has been training at Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas in preparation for the upcoming bout.
Borrallo will also be mentored by Strickland, one of the gym’s biggest names and a former bout opponent against Cannonier, who suffered a close split decision loss to “The Killa Gorilla” in the main event of UFC Fight Night in December 2022.
Coming out of that loss, Strickland advised Borrallo to pair him with a cornerback who could yell louder. While Strickland landed more effective punches against Cannonier, he also believes the constant applause from the opposing cornerback influenced the judges’ scores.
“The best advice Shawn gave me was that you need a good corner that yells a lot,” Borrallo recently told The Schmo. “Because in their fight, Strickland punched a lot, but the other [Cannonier’s] The punches were slippery and his corner was always yelling, ‘Go, Go,’ so maybe the referee got it wrong. So I’m just going to make sure I have a good corner, go in there, pick my shots, keep my distance and play my game. I know I’m good enough to beat him, so I’m just going to go in there and do what I do best and win the fight.”
Borrallo has also gained valuable experience training with Strickland, who is known for his relentless and intense sparring. In addition to sparring, “The Natural” praises Strickland as a great teammate and takes on a leadership role in Extreme Couture. Strickland has also been known to clean up the mats after practice.
“It was a great experience,” Borrallo said. “We all know how hard Sean spars and how much he pushes his guys in the gym. He’s actually a really good friend in the gym and he’s always encouraging me. So it’s always going to be good sparring against one of the best fighters in the world… [Strickland cleaning the
mats after practice] “He’s an example of a champion. He’s a true leader in Extreme Couture. He’s always shouting with the guys and inspiring them. He’s a good guy. I like him.”
