It wasn’t the most exciting of fights, but Caio
Borralho was in complete control for the majority of his
unanimous decision triumph over Armen
Petrosyan in the
UFC on ESPN 39 co-main event this past Saturday.
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The 29-year-old Brazilian landed multiple takedowns and spent long
periods of the fight attached to Petrosyan’s back in a drama-free
victory. Borralho has won nine straight professional outings,
including two in the UFC and two on Dana White’s Contender Series.
Winning, not entertaining, was the primary objective against a
dangerous kickboxer like Petrosyan.
“I got the job done, that’s what matters,” Borralho said at
Saturday’s post-fight press conference. “This is my fourth fight in
10 months, my fourth fight at a high level, and my fourth
domination win.
“…I feel blessed, I’m happy with my performance, I did what I
needed to do. I got the job done. I’m happy with my performance.
I’m a fighting nerd, I will calculate everything and I will do what
I need to do to win the fight. I’m not going to just brawl and be a
dumb fighter. No, I’m a fighting nerd and it’s bully payback
time.”
Borralho claims he was never tempted to test himself in his
opponent’s comfort zone. With his latest challenge complete, “The
Natural” is confident that he can step up to higher-profile
matchups.
“It’s never tough to be in the game plan. That’s what I needed to
do. In the third round I was feeling my foot, my shoulder. I had
big injuries in this camp too,” Borralho said.
“I’m ready for new challenges and the big stage, on a pay-per-view
card. You guys know I can sell fights. I can talk and I can win.
That’s what matters.”
Borralho did his best to set up such a challenge by calling out
Dricus Du
Plessis in his post-fight interview. The South African
middleweight is 3-0 in the Octagon and is coming off a decision
victory against Brad
Tavares at UFC 276.
“I don’t have anything against the guy,” Barralho said. “I know
that I can beat him. He’s ranked right now and I want [to fight]
him.