‘I’m the new breed’… Caio Borralho previews his first UFC main event as he targets a ‘good finish’ over Jared Cannonier

After a sensational PPV in Perth, the UFC returns to The Apex in Las Vegas this week for a fight night card headlined by ‘Fighting Nerds’ superstar Caio Borralho and the ‘Killa Gorilla’ himself.

Jumping from Paul Craig to Jared Cannonier is certainly no easy task; but for the man leading one of the most exciting new fight teams in all of MMA, it’s the opportunity to cement himself as the ‘new breed’ of middleweight to watch out for.

Photo by Pedro Vilela/Zuffa LLC via Getty ImagesCaio Borralho is ready to make a statement in his first UFC main eventSince making his way to the UFC through DWCS, 16-1 Brazilian middleweight Caio Borralho has gone from strength to strength, and heading into his first-ever UFC main event, the face of the ‘Fighting Nerds’ is as confident as they come.

Speaking to ESPN MMA’s Andreas Hale, Borralho teased that UFC fans are about to witness a ‘new breed’ of middleweight takeover the division – a conquest that starts with Jared ‘Killa Gorilla’ Cannonier.

“I’m the new breed of the division, people already know who I am but now people are going to put me in the [title] contender mix… After a good finish against Jared, I think there’ll be no question about it – I’ll be the next contender.

“In my last fight, my mantra was ‘I’m going to KO Paul Craig’ and I did it; in this fight, my mantra is ‘I’m going to show that the new champion has arrived’ – that’s my mantra right now.”

Borralho has certainly made good on that ‘mantra’ so far in his UFC career, going 6-0 in the promotion including a submission win over Michal Oleksiejczuk, a decision win over Abus Magomedov, and a brutal KO over Paul Craig earlier this year.

“The entire training camp, that’s my mantra for this fight – I’m going to show everybody [that] the new champion has arrived. And the UFC are going to see that and say, ‘Oh I think this kid is the next one’ so I definitely want [the title shot].”

Speaking earlier in the week to MMA Junkie, Borralho added that whilst he’s on track to steadily work his way through the middleweight division, a big finish over a veteran like Jared Cannonier will pay dividends when it comes to earning a No. 1 contender’s fight.  

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“This is something that plays as an advantage for me because it’s just a new breed that’s coming, and this kid can really fight, really sell fights, can really finish fights, so it plays as an advantage.”

Ignoring a No Contest from 2018 when he cut his head open on the fence, Borralho is riding an outstanding 15-fight winning streak; although ‘The Natural’ won’t be thinking about that unbeaten run this week with such a dangerous opponent in his crosshairs.

“It’s good to have a streak like that, but when I come to fight; I never think about my last fights, the only fight that matters right now is Jared Cannonier on August 24, that’s my mantra when it comes to [this] fight.”

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Borralho teases only a matter of time before ‘Fighting Nerds’ takeover UFCWin or lose this weekend in his UFC Fight Night showcase, fans can expect to see plenty more of Caio Borralho in-and-around the octagon as he helms the Fighting Nerds, a combat gym out of Sao Paulo, Brazil with a host of potential future contenders in tow.

When asked whether 2024 or 2025 will be the year of the Fighting Nerds, Borralho simply stated that it’s only a matter of time before they dominate the promotion – especially when the rest of his team join him in the UFC.

“Bro, every year since last year is the year of the takeover, we’re just beginning – we’re just at the start, we only have like seven guys in the UFC right now, but we have like 40 athletes in the gym.

“We have 10 more athletes ready to go who are at the UFC level who train with us every day, so it’s just the start,” teased the Brazilian, with the likes of Jean Silva, Mauricio Ruffy, Bruna Brasil, and Carlos Prates having already made their own respective splashes this year.

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Fighting Nerds UFC record (Including DWCS)
Ciao Borralho 8-0
Carlos Prates 4-0
Jean Silva 4-0
Mauricio Ruffy 2-0
Bruna Brasil 3-2 #UFCVegas96 pic.twitter.com/0UDhcE5Y07

— DiaztwinsMMA (@DiaztwinsMMA) August 20, 2024 View Tweet

“New faces are coming to the UFC, so every year is the year for Fighting Nerds; that’s our focus, that’s why we work so hard, we’re here to work, work, work.”

Caio Borralho vs Jared Cannonier is the main event of UFC Vegas 96, scheduled for Saturday, August 24.

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