Caio Borralho expects Sean Strickland to beat Dricus du Plessis, but ‘I always bet against Dricus and he always wins’

Caio Borralho may have called out Dricus du Plessis following his UFC Vegas 96 win, but he expects the UFC middleweight title to change hands before he gets his shot at the belt.

“I got [Sean] Strickland winning this fight, maybe, because I think Strickland won the last one, but maybe he left a little bit inside the octagon that he could do a little bit more,” Borralho said Saturday at UFC Vegas 96’s post-fight press conference. “But MMA is crazy. I always bet against Dricus and he always wins, so I’m not betting on the next one.

“Let those guys kill themselves and I’m the next one [to challenge for the title].”

Du Plessis and Strickland are expected to meet in a rematch for the UFC middleweight title next following du Plessis’ successful title defense over Israel Adesanya at UFC 305. Du Plessis and Strickland previously met in January at UFC 293, where du Plessis stole away Strickland’s belt with a razor-thin split decision win.

Borralho, 31, has great interest in the outcome of that rematch following his victory over Jared Cannonier on Saturday night.

Borralho pushed his undefeated UFC record to 7-0 at UFC Vegas 96 by putting together the finest performance of his octagon career in his first UFC main event. Despite being known largely as a grappler, Borralho outstruck Cannonier in an all-standup affair and even nearly knocked out the one-time title challenger with a thunderous salvo of punches in the fifth round. The judges ultimately scored the bout unanimously in his favor (49-45, 49-45, 48-46), and Borralho left the UFC APEX proud of the statement he made to the division.

“I wasn’t there to grapple. I was there to bring fire and be comfortable in the danger, because Jared’s a very dangerous opponent,” Borralho said.

“My jab was was on point, my calf kicks were on point, and I just did the job. I almost got the finish. I think the ref should have finished it, should have stopped the fight [in the fifth round] because Jared was [hurt] very bad, but it is what it is. I’m very thankful to be there [for] 25 minutes with one of the best in the world — and tell me one guy that did that to Jared. Tell me. There’s no one that did that to Jared the way I did it.”

An integral member of Brazil’s fast-rising Fighting Nerds team, Borralho overcame a nasty cut below his right eye at UFC Vegas 96 to gut out a win in the final rounds. He said post-fight that he one day hopes to be compared to MMA legends like Georges St-Pierre and Jon Jones by being considered “one of the most intelligent guys that ever stepped into the octagon.” After gradually working his way up the UFC ladder since debuting with back-to-back appearances on the promotion’s Contender Series in 2021, Borralho believes he’s finally on the doorstep of proving that he and his team belong alongside MMA’s elite.

“I think [this win] takes me to one of the best in the world,” Borralho said. “Like, I’m top five right now. At least, I deserve a top-five spot on Tuesday. And I think I proved myself as one of the best in the division — that I can strike. That I cannot only grapple, I can strike. I have the grappling, I have the wrestling, I have the durability, I have the chin, I have the power.

“I think I showed everyone that tonight, and it’s just going to take me to my belt. The mantra of this training camp was to show the new champ arrived, and I think I showed that a little bit. If I’m not the next one [to fight for the title], at least when there’s a conversation about who’s the next one, my name is going to be around there. I know that.”

That being said, Borralho also made it clear that he’s not interested in slowing down. After racking up seven wins over his first 28 months under UFC contract, Borralho is more than happy to continue adding to his résumé while du Plessis and Strickland handle business.

“I want a title shot, that’s for sure, but I’m a company man,” Borralho said.

“Whoever Hunter [Campbell] and Dana [White] send me to fight, if they’re people above me or something like that, like the fight that I deserve, the fight that’s going to put me even more close to the belt, I’m going to take it, because I’m the company man.”