This Saturday, Las Vegas once again hosted the world’s most famous octagon for another UFC event. In the main fight, Brazilian presence,
This Saturday, Las Vegas once again hosted the world’s most famous octagon for another UFC event. The main fight featured a Brazilian presence, with Caio Borralho taking on Jared Cannonier in a middleweight bout.
Borralho, considered one of the biggest sensations in his category, showed the reasons for so much ‘hype’ around his name by offering a great performance against the American and obtaining his ninth consecutive victory in his career and maintaining his unbeaten record in the seven meetings he had for the Ultimate.
The fight
The fight started with both fighters trying to find their positioning and strategy. At one point Cannonier gets hit in the eye by the Brazilian and the fight is stopped, but it resumes and both begin to find the opportunity to connect shots, with Caio managing to go with leg kicks and jabs to intimidate his opponent.
Already the second half showed a looser duel from the fighters. Caio Borralho continued to rely on low kicks to land more powerful punches and Cannonier tried to advance, despite being constantly targeted by the Brazilian’s shots. This balance would also reign at the beginning of the third round, with the surprising increase in speed and power.
Cannonier was already finding power in his punches and was throwing them in sequence, forcing Borralho to leave aside the low kicks and look for the jabs to answer the American’s pressure. Gaining confidence, the Brazilian landed a combination in the final part of the round and made the American feel it. Both gave it their all, leaving the last seconds rather tense.
The fight became once again in the fourth round. Cannonier showed that the “delay” received by the Brazilian did not scare him, but he could not land his shots so well. The Brazilian remains in the lead, resuming his low kicks, but it is the American who launches a precise combination that makes Caio’s right eyebrow bleed, managing to avoid greater rival pressure.
It would be the fifth round that would decide things in the fight. The American tried, but soon began to be ‘suffocated’ by the Brazilian on his feet. Borralho began to gain more confidence and saw his shots land better. A new combination was precise to knock Cannonier down and the Brazilian succeeded, trying to end the fight with ground and pound. Later, a submission attempt by Borralho was well rejected by the American, who remained alone in defense until the end. In any case, total domination by the Brazilian, who took another step towards the fight for the belt.
Brazil TUF Champion
The UFC also hosted the tournament finals of the latest edition of ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ on Saturday, with a Brazilian among the finalists. Mairon Santos competed in a featherweight tournament decision against Turkey’s Kaan Ofli, earning himself a shot at a UFC contract. The Rio native showed where he came from in style, winning the fight in the second round with an impressive knockout to become the newest member of the Ultimate team.
In the other TUF final, the middleweight tournament, Ryan Loder suffered against Robert Valentin, but fought back and also scored a great knockout victory in the round of 16 to win, like the Brazilian, his draw and secure the much-desired contract with Ultimate.
Brazilian night
Two fighters also represented Brazil in the octagon at UFC Vegas 96. Tabatha Ricci faced veteran Angela Hill and faced the pressure of her rival, using her striking and more offensive stance to dictate the pace of the fight. The Sao Paulo player even escaped a submission attempt from the American in the second round, but did not let herself be intimidated and continued to look for the attack. Thus, “Baby Shark” countered “Overkill” to take the victory in the judges’ decision.
In an attempt to rehabilitate, Josiane Nunes fought against Jacqueline Cavalcanti, born in Brazil and living in Portugal. Josi fought against her opponent in the first round, suffering the pressure of Jacqueline, but she managed to balance things in the second round. In the third part, the Brazilian managed to wave with a high kick of the Portuguese, but in the last seconds she took advantage of the latter’s slip to try to win with ground and pound. But this did not prevent her defeat.
UFC Vegas 96 Results: Borralho x Cannonier
Main card
Caio Borralho beat Jared Cannonier by unanimous decision
Tabatha Ricci defeated Angela Hill by unanimous decision
Ryan Loder defeats Robert Valentin by TKO (1:49 of R2) – Loder won the TUF Middleweight tournament
Mairon Santos defeats Kaan Ofli by KO (1:30 of R2) – Mairon wins TUF Featherweight tournament
Michael Morales defeats Neil Magny by TKO (4:39 of R1)
Gerald Meerschaert defeated Edmen Shahbazyan via submission (4:12 of R2)
Preliminary paper
Francis Marshall beat Dennis Buzujka by split decision
Zachary Reese defeated Jose Daniel Medina by unanimous decision
Viacheslav Borschev defeated James Llontop by split decision
Jacqueline Cavalcanti defeated Josiane Nunes by split decision
Wang Cong defeats Victoria Leonardo by KO (1:02 of R1)
Source: Terra
Rose James is a Gossipify movie and series reviewer known for her in-depth analysis and unique perspective on the latest releases. With a background in film studies, she provides engaging and informative reviews, and keeps readers up to date with industry trends and emerging talents.
