'We're coming to take over'… 17-1 Caio Borralho calls out Dricus Du Plessis following his decision win at UFC Vegas 96
25/08/2024 08:41
Thanks to a decision victory over Jared Cannonier in his first-ever UFC main event last night, surging contender Caio Borralho has catapulted himself into middleweight title contention.
Just one week after defending his title against Israel Adesanya at UFC 305 in Perth, the middleweight champion has found himself on the receiving end of an ominous callout from a rising Brazilian contender.
Caio Borralho scores late knockdown en route to decision win at UFC Vegas 96
After a close opening two rounds, the face of the 'Fighting Nerds' Caio Borralho showed once again that he's among the best middleweights in the world as he ran away with the third, fourth, and fifth rounds en route to a unanimous decision victory at The Apex.
Despite Jared Cannonier finding fleeting moments of success on the feet, it was ‘The Natural’ who was able to put on the pressure in the championship rounds – even dropping the UFC veteran with a thunderous 1-2 as the bout neared the final horn.
Having out-struck Cannonier 153 to 83 in significant strikes, the judges' scorecards ultimately read 49-45, 49-45, and 48-46 in favor of the Brazilian, who had a message for the champion locked and loaded ready for his post-fight interview.
Caio Borralho calls out Dricus Du Plessis following victory over Cannonier
Speaking to Michael Bisping after the judges' score totals were officially announced, Caio Borralho was keen to send a message to UFC middleweight champion, Dricus Du Plessis.
"I'm the new face [of the division] even with a few scratches, everybody that sees these glasses must be afraid because we are the Fighting Nerds [and] we're coming to take over!
"You know who I want next – I've been calling for it two times already. You already beat Sean [Strickland], you already beat Adesanya, you already beat all these guys so Dricus Du Plessis, get your ass over here or in South Africa – the Fighting Nerds are coming for you, boy."
In conversation with Megan Olivi backstage after his impressive victory, Borralho thanked Jared Cannonier for the battle and added that he hopes to see his name in the Top 5 of the rankings later this week.
"All respect to Jared, thank you for the battle and thank you for the $50K that we both won – I'm still going to keep doing my thing and now I hope to see my name on Tuesday on the Top 5 of the division – I'm coming for that belt.
"My mantra for this fight was 'The new champ has arrived' and I think everybody saw that there's a new champ on the rising; a guy that never gives up and has all the skills."
Given that the next middleweight title challenger is likely to be Sean Strickland, followed by the winner of October's long-awaited clash between Robert Whittaker and Khamzat Chimaev, Borralho will likely need one more win before he gets that coveted title shot.
Interestingly, former double champion Henry Cejudo believes that Borralho should be matched up with the man who DDP bested last weekend in Australia, the Last Stylebender.
"He's a threat for anybody at 185lbs and I know he just called out Dricus Du Plessis, but what's next for him? I think there's a fight with Israel Adesanya [there] or he gets the winner of Khamzat Chiamev and Robert Whittaker – this guy is one fight away from fighting for the middleweight title. This dude's a problem."
With the victory in Las Vegas, Caio Borralho moves to 17-1 as a professional and is now 7-0 in the UFC.
