Caio Borrallo has knocked down the door to the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s middleweight elite.
The Fighting Nazi star used a powerful jab, strong leg kicks and strong punching combination to defeat Jared Cannonier by unanimous decision on Saturday in the main event of UFC on ESPN 62 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Borrallo (17-1 MMA, 7-0 UFC) won by cageside decision on scorecards of 49-45, 49-45, 48-46 to snap his 14th straight win.
Cannonier (17-8 MMA, 10-8 UFC) handing Borrallo the win was a hard-fought battle over four-plus rounds. The MMA Lab mainstay landed a flurry of punches of his own, inflicting visible damage on the Brazilian, including a sickle-shaped gash under Borrallo’s right eye. But much of his good form was erased in the fifth round, when Borrallo slammed him to the canvas with a sharp one-two, then backed him down with ground-and-pound and elbows before securing an arm-triangle choke with seconds left in the bout. The finish didn’t come, but it was still a strong finish from the 31-year-old Dana White Contender Series graduate.
Meanwhile, Brazilian-Thai Tabatha Ricci earned the most significant victory of her career when she defeated former Invicta Fighting Championship titleholder Angela Hill by unanimous decision in the three-round women’s strawweight co-main event. All three cageside judges scored the fight the same, giving Ricci (11-2, 6-2 UFC) the 29-28 victory for her sixth victory in seven fights.
Ricci set a blistering pace from the start, using a flurry of punches to clinch and give Hill (17-14 MMA, 12-14 UFC) no time to catch her breath, much less use Hill’s signature moves. Ricci landed two takedowns in the second round and never backed down, even as she tired and her opponent put up significant resistance. Hill responded with her own unique combinations, including short-range elbow strikes, and countered effectively as time went on. But Ricci stuck to her game plan and refused to give an inch, continuing her onslaught until the final bell rang.
In the middleweight final at The Ultimate Fighter 32, Team Alpha Male’s Ryan Roeder defeated Robert Valentin with a series of elbows from a topside crucifix in the second round. Valentin (10-4, 0-1 UFC) was eliminated 1 minute, 49 seconds into the second round, ending his three-fight winning streak.
The two traded submissions, with Roeder using a scarfhold armlock and Valentin using a rear-naked choke, as they fought for position in a very active first round. Roeder (7-1, 1-0 UFC), a former NCAA All-American wrestler at the University of Northern Iowa, made his move in the middle round. He scrambled into top position and advanced to a crucifix, cutting off Valentin’s escape route. From there, Roeder finished the job with repeated elbow strikes to the Swiss middleweight’s exposed head.
The 33-year-old Roeder has won three straight fights.
Extreme Couture’s Myron Santos defeated former Hex Fight Series champion Khan Ofri with punches in the second round in the featherweight final at The Ultimate Fighter 32. Ofri (11-3-1, 0-1 UFC) was crushed 1 minute 30 seconds into the second round, ending his eight-fight winning streak.
Santos (14-1, 1-0 UFC) was dominant in every phase, holding his own in the clinch, blocking Ohri’s takedown attempts and landing damaging leg kicks and clean combinations to the head. Santos backed away early in the middle rounds, dropping his Australian opponent with a lightning left hook that dropped him to his knees unconscious, then landed a flurry of two-handed punches that sent Ohri falling face-down to the mat.
The setback was Ofri’s first since June 18, 2016. He had never been completely defeated before.
Further down the field, unbeaten Entram Gym prospect Michael Morales knocked out Neil Magny with punches in the first round of a welterweight showcase. Magny (29-12 MMA, 22-11 UFC) succumbed to the blow 4:39 into the first round, suffering the Ultimate Fighter 16 semifinalist’s first knockout loss in nearly six years.
Morales (17-0, 5-0 UFC) ate kicks to his veteran opponent’s lead leg and remained calm as the Elevation Fight Team mainstay closed the distance and clinched. After a lengthy struggle along the fence, the Ecuadorian created space and landed a spinning back elbow on the break, slamming Magny to the canvas. Morales charged into top position, unleashing ground-and-pound, progressing to full mount and eventually moving to the back. He then flattened Magny before landing a flurry of unanswered punches until referee Dan Miragliotta’s patience wore thin.
Finally, former Resurrection Fighting Alliance champion Gerald Meeschert defeated Extreme Couture’s Edmen Shahbazian via arm triangle choke in the second round of their middleweight undercard bout. Meeschert (37-17 MMA, 12-9 UFC) secured the victory 4 minutes, 12 seconds into the second round for his sixth victory in nine fights.
Shahbazyan (13-5 MMA, 6-5 UFC) was on the brink of victory when he lost. He picked Meeschat apart for much of the first and second rounds with Kill Cliff Fight Club-style body and head combinations, front kicks to the stomach and the occasional kick to the inside of the leg. Shahbazyan put the 54-fight veteran in real danger in the middle rounds. A right hook to the solar plexus bent Meeschat’s body back, and a subsequent knee strike sent him back to the canvas. A ferocious ground-and-pound ensued as Shahbazyan stepped on the gas to try and stop the fight. It wasn’t to be. Meeschat withstood the onslaught, got to his feet and scored a takedown. Soon after, he applied an arm triangle to the exhausted Shahbazyan, tightening the grip and forcing the tapout.
Meerschaert currently holds the UFC middleweight record for most finishes of all time with 12.
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