Caio Borrallo knows he is on his way to great success in the Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight division.
The Fighting Nerds alumni earned the most significant win of their career to date in the main event of UFC on ESPN 62 on Saturday night at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Borrallo withstood a fierce onslaught from Jared Cannonier to earn a unanimous decision victory. Borrallo nearly ended the bout in the fifth round, earning his seventh consecutive promotional victory. The Brazilian, known as “The Natural,” was very pleased with his performance against the former middleweight title challenger.
“I wasn’t there to grapple. I was there to bring my firepower and take risks because Jarrett is very dangerous,” Borrallo said in the post-fight press conference. “My jab was perfect, my calf kick was perfect. I just did my job. I almost got the finish.”
“I think the umpire should have ended the game. He should have stopped the game. [in the fifth round] Jared is [hurt] It’s very bad, but it is what it is. I’m very grateful to be there. [for] If you spend 25 minutes with one of the best players in the world and there’s no one else who’s ever done that to Jared, tell me. Tell me. There’s no one else who’s ever done that to Jared the way I did.”
Borrallo now believes he is ready to establish himself as one of the UFC middleweight elite.
“I think [this win] “This puts me in a position to be one of the best fighters in the world,” Borrallo said. “Right now I’m in the top five. I deserve to be in the top five at least on Tuesday. And I think I’ve proven that I’m one of the best in this weight class. I can strike. Not just grappling, I can strike. I have the grappling, the wrestling, the durability, the chin, the power.”
“I think I showed that tonight. I’m just going to put the belt on. The motto of this training camp was to show the new champion coming in. I think I showed that a little bit. If I’m not the next champion, [to fight for the title]At the very least, I know that when people start talking about who the next candidate is, my name will be mentioned.”
Borrallo will be second only to Sean Strickland and possibly the winner of Robert Whittaker vs. Khamzat Chimaev in the race for the middleweight championship, and the rising Brazilian is OK with that, knowing he’s at least a part of that contender list.
“I definitely want to fight for the title, but I’m an office worker,” Borrallo said. “Hunter [Campbell] Dana [White] If they are people higher up than me and they give me the fight that I deserve, the fight that gets me closer to the belt, I’ll accept it, because I’m a company guy.”
