Saturday’s UFC Fight Night from Las Vegas marks the eighth event so far this year headlined by a middleweight contest.
One week after Dricus Du Plessis successfully defended the 185-pound championship with a submission victory over former longtime titleholder Israel Adesanya, No. 5-ranked middleweight contender Jared Cannonier will aim to hold his top-five spot in the rankings and remain on the outskirts of the title picture when he faces streaking No. 12-ranked contender Caio Borralho in a five-round tilt at the UFC Apex.
Cannonier is looking to rebound from a controversial stoppage loss to Nassourdine Imavov in June. The 40-year-old was coming off back-to-back wins over Sean Strickland and Marvin Vettori and described the technical knockout loss — one widely considered a premature stoppage — as “gut-wrenching.”
Snapping Borralho’s 16-fight unbeaten streak and handing the 31-year-old Brazilian his first loss under the UFC banner would be a positive step in the right direction for Cannonier, who has zero room for error going forward if he wants to realistically earn his second title shot at this stage of his career.
Cannonier’s only defeats competing at 185 pounds prior to the controversial Imavov stoppage were to former champions Adesanya and Robert Whittaker.
The one-time title challenger — he lost a five-round unanimous decision to Adesanya at UFC 276 in July 2022 — has carried his power down from heavyweight to light heavyweight and then to middleweight throughout his UFC tenure.
Borralho took advantage of a significant gap in striking ability when he knocked out Scottish submission specialist Paul Craig at UFC 301 in May, a performance that earned him a post-fight bonus and improved his UFC record to 6-0 following the 2021 victory on Dana White’s Contender Series that earned him a contract.
This will be Borralho’s first UFC main event and the seventh time Cannonier has been a headliner.
UNDERCARD OVERVIEW
TUF 32 finale matchups: The Ultimate Fighter: Team Grasso vs. Team Shevchenko was marketed as “the most international season” of TUF to date, so it’s fitting the two tournament final matchups feature athletes from four different continents.
Switzerland’s Robert Valentin faces American Ryan Loder in the TUF 32 middleweight finale, while Brazil’s Mairon Santos takes on Australia’s Kaan Olfi in the featherweight finale.
The quality of competition on TUF 32 was relatively solid throughout, so don’t be surprised if a few fighters from the season end up carving out decent UFC careers. Time will tell whether any future title contender(s) may emerge.
Of the four finalists, Valentin and Santos would appear to have the brightest futures as younger fighters with well-rounded skill sets. They are both betting favourites heading into the weekend; however, Loder and Ofli each should hold wrestling advantages in their respective matchups on Saturday and will be live underdogs.
Can Magny spoil the party again? Welterweight stalwart Neil Magny is coming off an upset win over surging 170-pounder Mike Malott on the road in January, upsetting the Canadian in Toronto at UFC 297 with an impressive come-from-behind third-round stoppage victory. Magny has been in the UFC for 11.5 years and his strength of schedule is about as impressive as it gets for a fighter who is well above .500 and has never been a title challenger. The 37-year-old is the division’s all-time fights and wins leader with a 22-10 UFC record, including two over former champions Robbie Lawler and Johnny Hendricks.
Magny has alternated wins and losses over his past seven and is a huge betting underdog to the unbeaten Michael Morales. The 25-year-old from Ecuador is 16-0 as a pro and 4-0 in the UFC. He has shown himself to be a high-ceiling prospect but, like Malott earlier this year, he is facing his most experienced and possibly most dangerous opponent to date.
Borshchev finally gets favourable matchup: Viacheslav Borshchev can be a highlight factory — when he isn’t being outwrestled, which has been the story of his UFC career so far. He has lost three of his past four fights, largely because of his poor wrestling defence. On Saturday, he faces fellow striker James Llontop who was submitted in his short-notice UFC debut in April. This matchup is properly placed on the prelims, but it could end up being a sneaky Fight of the Night and/or Performance of the Night contender.
Other names to watch: Middleweight Zachary Reese, coming off a thrilling 20-second knockout of Julian Marquez in June, faces José Medina.
TUF 32 featherweights Zygimantas Ramaska and Nathan Fletcher both sustained injuries during the season but get a showcase spot on the prelims to show fans what they’re made of. Both fight at a fast pace and don’t back down.
Middleweights bookend the six-fight main card with Edmen Shahbazyan and Gerald Meerschaert kicking things off in a striker vs. grappler matchup. Meerschaert’s 10 submission wins are a UFC middleweight record, while 11 of Shahbazyan’s 13 pro wins have come by KO/TKO.
Below is Saturday’s full projected bout order for UFC Fight Night: Cannonier vs. Borralho.
MAIN CARD
— Jared Cannonier vs. Caio Borralho
— Angela Hill vs. Tabatha Ricci
— Ryan Loder vs. Robert Valentin (TUF 32 middleweight final)
— Kaan Ofli vs. Mairon Santos (TUF 32 featherweight final)
— Neil Magny vs. Michael Morales
— Edmen Shahbazyan vs. Gerald Meerschaert
PRELIMINARY CARD
— Dennis Buzukja vs. Francis Marshall
— Zachary Reese vs. José Medina
— Viacheslav Borshchev vs. James Llontop
— Jacqueline Cavalcanti vs. Josiane Nunes
— Zygimantas Ramaska vs. Nathan Fletcher
— Wang Cong vs. Victoria Leonardo