Paul Craig and Caio Boralho at UFC 301 ceremonial weigh-in Credit: Dylan Bowker/Cageside Press
UFC middleweight ranks Paul Craig and Caio Boralho faced off inside the cage to open the UFC 301 PPV card.
Paul Craig tried to stay in 13th place in the rankings after losing his last match with an old-fashioned but thrilling grappling style that relies on winning from behind. He faced #14 Caio Boralho, a Brazilian with a more modern, calm grappling style that focused on top-half guarding and back-taking. However, when grapplers compete against each other, it often leads to shocking duels, in which Boralho overpowered Craig en route to the knockout.
When Craig pulled his guard to start the match, Boralho was reluctant to get into Paul’s guard and quickly landed a big punch to the leg that snapped his head back. Caio’s various attacks were too much for Craig. Craig was just pulling his guard and throwing kicks with little intention. The rest of the round was just Boralho comfortably defeating Paul Craig.
Boralho took more jabs at Craig in the second round, seriously injuring him with a flying right hand and a flying knee in the first minute. Craig survived, allowing Caio to get back to his feet, but a blow from Boralho kept him comfortably in the lead. Caio launched a forward combination attack against Paul, chasing the Scot to the fence and applying his left hand, leaving Craig face down and cold on the canvas.
The biggest win of Caio Boralho’s MMA career was a six-fight win streak, leaving him undefeated in the UFC. Doing it in front of his home crowd made it even more appealing, as did adding highlights to his reel.
Official Results: Caio Boralho def. Paul Craig Knockout (Straight Left) Round 2, 2:10
