Caio Borralho showed off the full extent of his striking ability in the main event of tonight’s UFC On ESPN 62 as he got the better of Jared Cannonier over five rounds and came close to a highlight-reel finis in the final five minutes.
Round One:
Borralho with a solid jab to start. Calf kick for Cannonier. Now an inside low kick from Borralho. Fast jab for Borralho.
Eye-poke from Borralho forces a stoppage for Cannonier to recover.
Back to it they go. Head kick attempt from Borralho is blocked. Jab for him and a counter fires back from Cannonier.
Heavy calf kick from Borralho knocked Cannonier off-balance for a moment. Now an inside leg kick knocks Cannonier down for a moment too. Impressive from the Brazilian.
Head kick attempt from Borralho is blocked. Jab for Borralho and a punch in return from Cannonier. Another head kick from Borralho is blocked.
Glancing right hand from Cannonier. One-two for Borralho. He jumps into a knee to the body. Cannonier stalks forward and lands a leg kick.
Cannonier pressures again and lands two good left hands. Body kick for Borralho. Now a calf kick. Cannonier withh a calf kick too.
Borralho circling back and forth. A couple of punches from Cannonier. He lands one to the body.
Round Two:
Cannonier comes up short on a punch and leg kick. He does finds a home for a right hand now though. He throws another right. It got through a few times there.
Nice jab from Borralho. Right and a left from Cannonier. Solid calf kick from Borralho. Now a lighter calf kick from Cannonier.
Head kick attempt from Borralho is blocked. Double jab for Cannonier followed up by a left. Jumping knee to the body from Borralho comes up short.
Borralho throws punches but Cannonier lands cleaner. Borralho looking a bit wobbled for a moment but seems ok. Leg kick and a couple of punches from Borralho. Right hand for Cannonier.
swing and a miss from Borralho. Cannonier pressuring. He lands a couple of right hands. Borralho lands his jab. And again. Now a leg kick. Back to the jab.
Left and right hooks from Cannonier. Borralho pulls his head away from a couple of punches. Right hook for Cannonier.
Cannonier leads with the right hand again. Borralho misses a punch and Cannonier lands a combo on the counter.
Left hand from Cannonier. Borralho fires off a head kick that’s blocked as the round comes to a close.
Round Three:
Cannonier stepping in with a couple of punches, but Borralho counters with a hook. Jab for Borralho. Punch from Borralho knocks Cannonier’s mouthpiece out so there’s a stoppage while it’s retrieved.
Punch for Cannonier, knee from Borralho. Jab for Borralho. He looks for a right hook. Knee to the body from Borralho and a jab.
Jabs landed at the same time. leg kick for Borralho and a counter just misses from Cannonier. Body punch for him. Jabs for Borralho.
Thigh kick from Borralho. Now a calf kick. A missed flurry from Cannonier. Right hook gets through. One-two for Cannonier. Grazing right hook for Borralho.
Right hand for Cannonier and a left hand from Borralho. He lands again. Nicely timed right hand for Borralho and Cannonier lands too.
Heavy left hand for Borralho buckles Cannonier’s legs for a moment. He’s circling away now trying to regain his bearings. Borralho pursuing him. Cannonier loses his balance for a moment as his legs still struggle to keep him upright.
Cannonier striking back now in the final seconds of the round and Borralho returns fire, landing a big punch as the horn sounds.
Round Four:
Calf kick for Borralho. Good jab for Borralho. Body kick for Borralho. Borralho’s jab lands again. Now a spinning kick to the body attempted. Back to the calf kick now.
Borralho thinking about a knee but Cannonier lands a couple of right hands to put him off. Grazing right and left hook from Cannonier.
Jab for Borralho. Calf kick for Borralho. Now a left hand for him. Cannonier bursts into a right hand with a left behind it.
Jab to the body for Cannonier. Body kick for him. Glancing left hand. Hard one-two for Borralho and then Cannonier returns with a good combo.
One-two for Borralho who has a nasty cut below his right eye. Cannonier stumbles backwards after what might have been a punch. Borralho circling and Cannonier land a right hook.
jabs exchanged. Cannonier misses and Borralho lands. Good right hook for Borralho.
Round Five:
Borralho’s right eye doesn’t look good, swollen and with a big cut below it.
Calf kick for Borralho. Borralho tries for a takedown that doesn’t pay off. Cannonier swings but misses. Right hand lands for Borralho.
Borralho pressuring. He lands a jab. Right hand gets through for Cannonier. Jabs for Borralho. Now a calf kick. left hand over the top from Cannonier.
Borralho with a high kick attempt that’s blocked. Cannonier misses a couple of punches and Borralho catches him with a counter.
Left hand for Borralho, steers his head clear of a counter and then lands again. Punch from Borralho knocks Cannonier’s mouthpiece out, but he gets it back and gets straight back to fighting.
Cannonier gets a couple of punches. Heavy one-two for Borralho and there’s a delayed reaction from Cannonier as he stiffens up and then staggers backwards to the mat!
He’s still conscious though as Borralho follows him down throwing heavy ground-and-pound. To his credit Cannonier survives that.
Borralho changes up his strategy, trying to set up an arm triangle. This looks like a tough spot for the already rocked Cannonier, but he’s hanging tough. Borralho gives up on the choke and Cannonier is going to make it to the end of the round.
Decision:
This was a very entertaining back-and-forth striking battle that saw Borralho demonstrate his most impressive stand-up performance in the UFC so far as he got the better of the action for the most part, though Cannonier had good moments too. Borralho appeared to seal the deal in the 5th round though by flooring Cannonier, but he couldn’t quite find a finish and had to settle for a convincing unanimous decision victory instead (49-45 x2, 48-46).
