Caio Borralho was able to beat Reinier de Ridder by unanimous decision tonight at UFC 326 in Las Vegas.
Round One
Low kick for Borralho. Now one from RdR. A couple more calf kicks from Borralho and then a punch upstairs.
Both throw a leg kick at the same time now. De Ridder overreaches on a punch that misses and he gets caught by a counter from Borralho that drops him momentarily.
Another exchange now and bizarrely they both land a knee to each others groins, though only Borralho reacts in pain and drops to the canvas, forcing a time-out.
Back to it they go after a couple of minutes. De Ridder with a short flurry of punches. Straight left from Borralho.
Body punch and then one upstairs from Borralho. Overhand left from RdR. Another body-head combo lands for Borralho.
Leg kick from Borralho. Big right hand lands for the Brazilian. Now a left hook gets through after de Ridder whiffs on a combination.
Kick for RdR. Now a punch for him. De Ridder trying for a takedown now and he does manage to get Borralho down to his knees, but he moves to the cage and stands.
De Ridder has the body lock and presses Borralho into the cage. Borralho fending off attempts to bring him back to the mat.
Finally de Ridder does get him down, but Borralho comes close to reversing that before standing back up.
Round Two
Right hand lands for Borralho as RdR was a bit careless pressing forward to land strikes.
Calf kick for Borralho. One-two from Borralho snaps RdR’s head back. Low kick for him. Winging punches from de Ridder.
Left hook for Borralho, but de Ridder clinches up and starts working for a takedown against the cage. Borralho does well to stuff a takedown and immediately turn into RdR, pressing him into the fence now.
De Ridder reverses the position. He starts working on a single-leg, but nothing doing.
Borralho finally gets free and back to striking range. Body punch for him. Glancing punches from de Ridder. Couple of hooks and a knee attempt now.
Calf kick for Borralho. Solid left hand for de Ridder. RdR takes a leaf out his opponent’s book with a body-head combo.
They clinch late in the round and Borralho lands a few knees to the thigh.
Round Three
Borralho lands a nice right hook. Jab for RdR. De Ridder misses a strike and then Borralho pushes his off-balance opponent to the mat for a moment.
De Ridder lands a nice knee to the body, but Borralho responds by landing a good takedown.
Borralho moves into mount, but soon after is back in half-guard. Borralho patient on top and de Ridder uses the fence to gradually rolls onto his knees and then stand.
Back to striking range. Kick to the body from RdR. Jabs exchanged. Winging punches from de Ridder miss.
Left hand for de Ridder. Leg kick for Borralho. Left and a right land for de Ridder. Borralho looks a bit tired, but rips to the body. Borralho seems to land a strike and de Ridder stumbles off-balance for a moment.
Leg kick for Borralho. Now a right hand. Body kick added for good measure. Kick upstairs from RdR seemed to graze the face.
Decision
Borralho was able to get the better of de Ridder with more effective striking and solid wrestling to emerge with a unanimous decision victory (30-27 x3).
