Preview: UFC on ESPN 62 ‘Cannonier vs. Borralho’

The Ultimate Fighting Championship on Saturday will return to the UFC Apex in Las Vegas with UFC on ESPN 62—a show that doubles as “The Ultimate Fighter 32” Finale. The main event provides an intriguing veteran-versus-prospect clash with some significant stakes, as Jared Cannonier looks to defend his place on the fringes of the middleweight elite against rising Brazilian upstart Caio Borralho. The theme carries through the rest of the main draw in a series of well-matched fights. Angela Hill tries to hold serve against Tabatha Ricci, Neil Magny once again finds himself on gatekeeper duty against Michael Morales and Gerald Meerschaert provides another litmus test for Edmen Shahbazyan. Add in “The Ultimate Fighter” finals, and it should make for a strong three hours.

Now to the UFC on ESPN 62 “Cannonier vs. Borralho” preview:

Middleweights

#5 MW | Jared Cannonier (17-7, 10-7 UFC) vs. #12 MW | Caio Borralho (16-1, 6-0 PFL)

ODDS: Borralho (-218), Cannonier (+180)

After how his last fight ended, this is a crucial spot for Cannonier, since “The Killa Gorilla” could use a well-timed win to put himself back in the title picture. Cannonier’s first few years under the UFC banner were nothing special, as he started things off as an undersized heavyweight and eventually wound up as an unremarkable light heavyweight. Then Cannonier cut down to middleweight, and at that point, everything changed. It’s hard to think of a weight cut that unlocked more for a fighter in recent memory, as Cannonier suddenly found an elite level of horsepower relative to his peers. Cannonier’s game was still fairly pared down, but that didn’t seem to matter much. His physical strength made him difficult to overwhelm in close quarters, leaving opponents to deal with the knockout threat of one of the hardest hitters in the division. Cannonier’s limited approach only came back to bite him at the absolute top tier of the division, as both Robert Whittaker and Israel Adesanya were able to outmaneuver him ahead of decision victories. However, Cannonier rebounded from his unsuccessful title challenge against Adesanya in impressive fashion, beating Sean Strickland and Marvin Vettori to put his name right back in the mix for contention. That was especially true once Adesanya’s title reign gave way to those of Strickland and Dricus Du Plessis, but an injury kept Cannonier out of the mix for a title fight, leaving him to return against Nassourdine Imavov in June while coming off a one-year layoff. Things were going well enough for Cannonier through three rounds against Imavov, as he seemed slightly ahead in a fairly unremarkable affair, but then his title hopes suddenly went up in smoke. Imavov landed a hard shot that seemed to stun Cannonier, and while his reactions weren’t the greatest, the referee stepped in for what felt like an extremely early stoppage. Luckily for Cannonier, things have shaken out where there isn’t an obvious next title challenger for Du Plessis, so with an impressive performance against Borralho, there’s a chance that his resume can sneak him back into the championship picture.

Borralho has spent the last three years proving he’s ready to take on the middleweight elite, and the Brazilian finally gets that shot here. Dating back to his two fights on the 2021 edition of Dana White’s Contender Series, “The Natural” has proven himself as both a powerful striker and a control-heavy wrestler. Borralho has mostly leaned on the former to find his success in the UFC, but that hasn’t dissuaded the promotion from featuring him prominently. Given the opportunity to show off a wrestling advantage, Borralho is more than content to turn things into a grind. Of his six wins in the UFC to date, the four that have come by decision are by far the cleanest. As for the situation on the feet, that’s a bit harder to parse. Borralho shows some solid ideas with a bouncy approach from range and can hit like a truck when he commits, but he ate a lot of offense before staging a comeback against Michal Oleksiejczuk and an eventual knockout win of Paul Craig was messier than it needed to be. Cannonier is now 40 years old with a style dependent on athleticism, so there’s always a chance the wheels could fall off at any moment. For now, this does appear to be a tough matchup for Borralho, particularly over five rounds. Cannonier’s takedown defense can be spotty, but he’s underrated in terms of being able to outgrapple and control on the mat; and if this is a striking match, Borralho’s movement-heavy approach figures to tire the Brazilian out more as the two exchange power. Essentially, all of Borralho’s options seem to exhaust his gas tank, so unless he can score a quick finish, this looks like a fight that Cannonier can take over late. The pick is Cannonier via fourth-round stoppage.

Jump To »
Cannonier vs. Borralho
Ricci vs. Hill
Valentin vs. Loder
Ofli vs. Alves
Morales vs. Magny
Shahbazyan vs. Meerschaert
The Prelims